French President Emmanuel Macron is facing mounting pressure to resign or call snap parliamentary elections to end a deepening political crisis that has seen five prime ministers quit in less than two years.
The turmoil has shaken confidence in France’s leadership and unsettled markets across Europe.
Despite growing discontent, the 47-year-old centrist has insisted he will complete his second term, due to end in 2027.
However, what began as fringe calls for his resignation has now entered mainstream political debate amid one of France’s worst crises since the Fifth Republic was established in 1958.
On Tuesday, outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was locked in last-ditch negotiations to form a new government after tendering his resignation. Edouard Philippe, Macron’s first premier in 2017 and a potential successor, told RTL radio that the president should consider “leaving in an orderly manner” to end the deadlock.
The crisis has sparked frustration among ordinary citizens and concern among investors. French stocks fell 1.4% on Monday, while the risk premium on French government bonds climbed to a nine-month high as markets assessed the political uncertainty.
“It’s a mess. It makes you sad,” said Paris pensioner Brigitte Gries, while taxi driver Soufiane Mansour lamented, “We’re becoming a bit of a laughing stock around the world.”
Macron’s former allies have also turned critical. Gabriel Attal, who briefly served as prime minister last year, said on TF1 television: “Like many French people, I no longer understand the president’s decisions.”
Elisabeth Borne, another former premier and current caretaker education minister, said she was open to suspending Macron’s unpopular pension reform, which has fueled months of protests.
Lecornu, whose government lasted just 14 hours, the shortest in modern French history, has been given two days to build a consensus capable of passing next year’s budget.
He has been meeting centrist and conservative leaders, though far-right National Rally (RN) chiefs Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella refused to join the talks, renewing their call for the dissolution of Parliament.
While the RN leads opinion polls, surveys suggest a new election would likely result in another fragmented legislature, leaving France’s political paralysis unresolved.
The ongoing turmoil in Europe’s second-largest economy comes at a time when global partners, including the United States, are urging stronger European unity on defense and support for Ukraine, a task made harder by France’s current political uncertainty.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
