At a critical international juncture, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the threatening stance of Russia and the withdrawal of the US from Europe, France, a pillar country of the EU, marches into 2026, awaiting the passage of the budget, which should be approved by December 31. A fact that is considered far from certain, although negotiations between the government, opposition and social partners continue.
under the centrist, who had assumed the office of prime minister, on December 5, 2024, after the fall of Michel Barnier’s government, -which had lasted only three months-, due to a motion of impeachment, it was inaugurated after the early parliamentary elections, which were announced by the French president, in July 2024, after the defeat of his party in the June European elections.
However, the polls of July 7, 2024, produced a French National Assembly (Parliament) divided into three blocs, the centrist, the far-right and the center-left, none of which secured a majority.
François Bairou, with the support of Macron’s party, the small parties of the Center, including his own, and the tolerance of the Center Left and Far Right, managed to stay in power for eight months and 27 days.
Bayrou attempted to house France’s public finances (he took over France with a debt of 3.3 trillion euros, or 113.7% of GDP, and a deficit of 162.4 billion euros, or 6.2% of GDP).
The opposition criticized Bayrou’s program as vague on economic measures, prompting Bayrou to call for a vote of confidence in the government at the end of last August. On 8 September, the National Assembly did not give a vote of confidence to the Bayrou government, which was eventually overthrown by 364 votes to 194.
The Lecorne I government, the shortest in French history
On October 5, Macron appoints Defense Minister Sébastien Lecorny, a low-key politician and absolute confidant of the president, as prime minister. Once again, Macron does not choose a prime minister from the camp that came first in the 2024 election, that of the Center-Left coalition (Socialists, Eco-Communists and the Far Left of Insubordinate France) and entrusts, once again, the prime ministership to a politician of his absolute confidence.
According to his statement, “loyal soldier” Lekorni, however, is forced to resign after only 14 hours in the prime ministership, in view of the threat of the right-wing Republican party, to withdraw their support for the government.
To everyone’s surprise, the government of Lecourt I, the shortest in French history, is replaced, by the government of Lecourt II, four days later, on 10 October. For the second time in less than a week, Lecorny takes over as prime minister in the absence of another willing politician from Macron’s camp.
Since then, the French prime minister has attempted compromises, first of all, the commitment to suspend the implementation of the pension reform (which provided for the gradual increase of the French retirement age from 62 to 64 years) that had caused sharp reactions.
Lekorni is optimistic that in the days remaining until the end of the year, the negotiations between the government and the opposition to pass the budget will finally bear fruit.
In any case, his government is anything but strong. At the same time, Macron has become a weak president: his popularity ratings are at an all-time low of 11%, on par with François Hollande, just months before his term ends at the end of 2016.
The difference, however, is that the centrist Macron is seen as completely cut off from French citizens, who resent his style of government, unlike Hollande, who, despite his low popularity and weaknesses, appears to have kept in touch with the people who re-elected him as a Socialist party MP in the July 2024 election.
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