Detested Macron blames ‘anti-Republican front’ for government collapse

London: Emmanuel Macron has rejected calls to stand down and says he will name a new prime minister – the fourth of his seven years as president – in the coming days.

If France was in its biggest political crisis in a generation, Macron wasn’t feeling it. In the wake of his government’s collapse, he says it’s still in the national interest that he sees out his five-year presidential mandate, which ends in 2027.

A bar TV shows the telecast of French President Emmanuel Macron’s address to the nation.Credit: AP

The collapse of France’s centre-right coalition government has thrust Macron back into the spotlight and a growing chorus is questioning whether the divisive and at times impetuous leader is suited to resolve the political crisis.

The turmoil comes amid a rough patch in the French economy, as various factors take a toll on growth, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, high interest rates and economic slowdowns in Germany and China, two of France’s trading partners.

In a televised address, Macron said France could not constitutionally have new parliamentary elections for 10 months, following his decision to call a snap poll back in July. The result, he promised at the time, would offer the country some “clarification”. It led to the current chaos.

Credit: Matt Golding

But for the first time, he conceded he was partly to blame for the situation the nation now faces.

“Many have blamed me for it and I know, many continue to blame me. It’s a fact and it’s my responsibility,” he said. “The dissolution was not understood, that’s my responsibility, [but] I will never accept the irresponsibility of others.”

He then went on to attack his political opponents on the “extreme right” and “extreme left”, accusing them of collaborating in an “anti-republican front”.

“Some political groups have chosen chaos,” he said, referring to the no-confidence vote which led to Michel Barnier standing down just three months after he was appointed by Macron. “They don’t want to build, they want to dismantle.”

Barnier’s government became the shortest-tenured in modern French history after the first successful no-confidence vote in France in more than 60 years. Sparking his downfall was his proposed financing bill, which included €60 billion ($98.4 billion) worth of tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at bringing the budget deficit down to 5 per cent next year.

Michel Barnier has resigned as France’s prime minister following a no-confidence vote.Credit: Bloomberg

Macron must now appoint a new prime minister and task them with either passing a law that extends this year’s budget into the early months of 2025, or pushing a complete budget through parliament by the end of the year. Macron said the next prime minister would be charged with forming a “government of general interest” with a priority of passing a budget.

Addressing voters directly, he said some of his political opponents were not thinking “about you, the voters”, suggesting that their interest was in the next presidential election.

“My responsibility requires me to ensure the continuity of the state, the proper functioning of our institutions, the independence of our country, and the protection of all of you.”

“Let’s be honest, they think about one thing: the presidential election,” Macron said of the party of his long-term, hard-right National Rally rival Marine Le Pen. He said the party’s “cynical” approach had brought “a sense of chaos” to the country.

After Macron’s address, Le Pen wrote a “Gentle reminder to President Macron” in a post on X that no-confidence votes are “not anti-Republican, but provided for in our constitution”.

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen says Macron will continue to feel the pressure.Credit: AP

Le Pen, whose party holds the most seats in parliament, stopped short of calling for Macron’s resignation but warned “the pressure on the president of the republic will get stronger and stronger”.

The one thing to never forget is that Macron is hated in France with a vicious passion. The people of France see him as arrogant, elitist and unrelatable. (His approval rating fell to 23 per cent in the Ipsos poll last month, Bloomberg reported).

Alain Minc, a political essayist and long-term informal adviser to French presidents, said on Thursday: “Macron is a victim of his own narcissism ... He was in denial of reality.”

Barnier will stay on as caretaker role for now, but Macron is under pressure to quickly name a new prime minister who might offer the country some stability. Candidates include Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and centrist former presidential candidate François Bayrou.

Whoever is chosen, few believe a new government will manage to navigate the minefield of a bitterly divided parliament. France could be back in this position again soon enough.

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