France is a semi-presidential country; that means they have a president and a prime minister who share ruling responsibilities. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, and the head of France is the President. France has been plagued by political turmoil in recent years. Just last year, the Prime Minister was ousted by the parliament after a vote of no confidence. This is called a government collapse. Last month, the new Prime Minister, François Bayrou, stepped down from his position. He resigned just hours after naming his cabinet.
French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election last year. A snap election is an election called at any time between the 5-year presidential and parliamentary terms. This election gave the right-wing (Rassemblement National RN) party a significantly larger number of seats than before. Following Bayrou’s resignation, the leader of the RN, Marine Le Pen, announced that her party will not approve any new prime minister until a new parliamentary election is held.
The near future for France
President Macron has a few options to go forward. None of these is beneficial for his party, the Renaissance party. His first option is to nominate another left-leaning politician from a different left-leaning party. Due to the distrust the French are now having with the left-wing politicians, the government would be likely to collapse in a short period of time. The second option Macron has is to nominate a neutral politician. This is not in the best interest of France since its current state of politics to not compromise and only votes within party lines. The third option for Macron is to call another snap election. This is not in Macron’s best interest since, due to his government failures, people will be more likely to vote more for the RN party. The citizens will get their wishes; however, Macron loses power if he loses the presidential election or has a right-wing majority in parliament.
The future for Europe
The right-wing parties in Europe have been making tremendous strides in popularity. This is a shocking feat since a large majority of Europe is culturally liberal. The rising turmoil in France, marked by the frequent government collapses, marks a stride in the RN party—another far-right party gaining popularity—in Europe.
France is also a huge player in the Eurozone economic system, being the second-largest economy in Europe. International observers worry that an internal collapse in France could result in a financial crisis for members of the Eurozone. Right after the government collapsed, the Euro fell in value. What more damage will occur in the future?
The influence France has in the Eurozone, the EU, and the UN is expected to decrease as its internal issues get worse and worse. These issues are expected to get worse, and division will get greater in France as people are tired of Macron’s administration; however, there are no signs that he will resign and end his term early.
