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France's political crisis Can the new Prime Minister tackle the challenges
Credit: Reuters

On Tuesday, French political leaders from different parties and Emmanuel Macron met in the Elysée Palace’s winter garden. The meeting was crucial for many French politicians. Under Macron’s leadership, 40 leaders from seven moderate parties gathered. Three former Prime Ministers also attended this meeting. However, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélencho were absent. 

This meeting has a special purpose. As we all know, France has been grappling with many political and economic issues since the year 2022. The objective was to find out the solution to all the crises and also find a way to manage the divided National Assembly. However, one of the bigger risks is that of leaving extreme parties. 

Macron expressed his desire that moderate parties should collaborate and work together. They should focus on reform instead of radical ideas. The main challenging task is to get these parties on a single platform and end the political deadlock. If they don’t successfully achieve their target then it may be possible that France could face more crises. As a result, ‌extreme parties might become more popular. 

The recent meeting between Greens, Communities, and Socialists highlights a split in the New Popular Front. More than two years have passed, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s critical opinions have led the alliance. The moderation has been left away due to his anti-capitalist and anti-European ideas. 

President Macron is still confused about choosing the new Prime Minister since the removal of Michel Barnier. Barnier was removed due to the collaboration of ‌far-left and right-wing leaders. After his removal, Macron promised to select a new Prime Minister within 48 hours. But his visit to Warsaw may become the reason for delays in the selection of a new person to run France. 

In the meeting, Macron explored his 3 basic ideas.The first was the rejection of the broad coalition. Secondly, a policy agreement was seen as unlikely. The best idea was for the non-aggression pact to reach an agreement on the 2025 budget. This idea ‌received much acceptance, and the new prime minister will further work on it. Other officials also helped the new leaders to tackle challenges in better ways.

Article 49.3, a constitutional power that permits legislation to be passed without a legislative vote, may be abandoned by the incoming French government. A cooperative group in the National Assembly would consent to refrain from opposing the administration with no-confidence votes in exchange. This change would compel Parliament to engage in compromise and negotiation, which is not customary in French politics.

A shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system may result in the improvement of immigration if this strategy is maintained. It is still unclear, though, if French political culture is prepared for such a significant shift.

To discuss possible collaboration, the future prime minister possibly centrist leader François Bayrou, is anticipated to meet with representatives of several political groups. Although the next coalition would probably resemble the existing one, a minority alliance between Macron’s centrists and the moderate right may be made to include members from the immigrants.

However, several center-left factions, especially the Communists and Socialists, are prepared to abandon Mélenchon’s strict brand of left-wing populism.

“You can’t live your entire life saying ‘no,'”

stated socialist leader Olivier Faure. This illustrates the difficult decision made by the moderate Left in France. Many parliamentarians may lose their seats in the upcoming elections if Socialists and Communists are unable to reach an agreement with Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise. But aligning with the radical left, which is pro-Russian and anti-European, would harm their prospects of gaining power in the long run.

The 2025 budget will be hard to compromise on. Principles are simpler to agree on than taxes and spending. Macron’s party and the center-right must also reach an agreement on immigration and pension reforms in order to build a larger alliance.

Politicians may temporarily put aside their disagreements during the recent meeting at the Elysée, which may have been dubbed a “Christmas Truce.” However, similar to the short-lived 1914 truce, this collaboration might not be sustained. Political differences can quickly reappear if there is no genuine compromise. 

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