A dizzying heat has ravaged France recently, with temperatures above 40 degrees in some places. And it’s hot for President Emmanuel Macron, too. Government Alliance Together! received only 246 seats, far from 289 which would have given the majority. And it seems to be difficult to reach an agreement with the opposition parties – A unique situation that poses a risk to our country, says Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to Le Figaro. A brilliantly satisfied Marine Le Pen speaks to the press after the success of the parliamentary elections. Photo: DENIS CHARLET / AFP The far-right party National Assembly is now the country’s second largest party, with 89 of 577 seats. Never before has the party, which was partly founded by neo-fascist groups, received so many representatives. The left-wing alliance Nupes also made a good choice, with 142 seats. The left-wing radical party The Indomitable France, leads that alliance. They got 72 seats. Another record. Janne Haaland Matlary, Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. Photo: University of Oslo – The traditional party structure has been destroyed, comments Janne Haaland Matlary. She is a professor of political science at the University of Oslo. The next day When the yellow vests dominated the news picture in 2018, the Canadian commentator Mathieu Bock-Côté gave an often quoted description of French people: – French people are monarchists and royalists. They love the president they want to see as a king, and then when things go awry, they will cut off his head. In TV studios, election vigils and on Twitter, opposition politicians are already celebrating the death of the “king”. – Macron is beaten, he is in the minority. The French do not want any of his policies, said party president of the National Assembly, Jordan Bardella, last night. Jean Luc Melenchon speaks to his election vigil after a marked progress for his party in the parliamentary elections. Photo: Michel Euler / AP – It is a totally unexpected situation, completely unheard of: the president’s party is completely astray, and there is no majority, Jean-Luc Mélenchon stated. Macron has not yet commented. Emmanuel Macron visits Kyiv with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (left). Photo: Ludovic Marin / AP Lack of leeway abroad Prior to the election, President Macron was mainly to be seen abroad. Most recently in Kyiv last week, on a team with Germany’s Olaf Scholtz and Italy’s Mario Draghi. – The French president is superb when it comes to foreign and security policy. This is also the area Macron likes best to be busy with, Matlary explains. But abroad there is not much room for maneuver left for France, the professor analyzes: – France has suffered a very big failure in Mali, where they went in militarily to support a regime that has now lost power in a coup. The war in Ukraine will continue, at least through the summer, and France’s attempt at a line of dialogue with Putin is dead. France is partly on the sidelines of security policy, now that it has a very strong British-American leadership. French soldiers return home from Mali after the new military power in the country asked France to withdraw. Photo: AP No «spare wheel» domestic There are thus few ways out for Macron. If he is to do anything, he will have to deal with the difficult domestic policy, says Matlary: – Voters have shown that they are most concerned with economics, and Macron needs money to implement his reforms. It will be difficult to do anything about it, as it is the National Assembly that decides in this field. There, the government will have to find partners and make compromises. The leader of the Republicans Christian Jacob. Photo: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP The Republican Party won 64 seats yesterday and can thus get a decisive vote. But the leader of the party, Christian Jacob, said last night that they would not be a “spare wheel” for the government, and that they are still in opposition. Matlary believes France will have to deal with more Norwegian conditions. – It will be a similar situation to the one we often have in Norway, with a minority government. But the starting point is not good, with strong polarization and a large culture for protest. The French like to have strong debates, but they do not have the same tradition of making compromises as we have in Norway.
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No “spare wheel” for Macron after election failure – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
