Édouard Philippe, a former French Prime Minister and one-time ally of Emmanuel Macron, has said urged for early presidential elections given the gravity of the political crisis rocking the country.
Philippe explained that he was not calling for Macron’s immediate resignation but that the President should “announce that he is organising an early presidential election” once a budget for next year had been adopted.
Macron has previously said that he’ll see out his second and last presidential term to its end in 2027.
“Time is of the essence. We are not going to prolong what we have been experiencing for the past six months. Another 18 months is far too long and it is damaging France. The political game we are playing today is distressing.”
Édouard Philippe
His comments were echoed by Jordan Bardella, the leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), who said he, too, supported first a dissolution of parliament, followed by parliamentary elections or early presidential elections.
“I call on the President of the Republic to hear the suffering in the country, to come out of his isolation, and to dissolve the National Assembly.
“We must go back to the French people so they can choose a majority for themselves. We are ready to take responsibility.”
Jordan Bardella
The remarks by Philippe came as the outgoing Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, began a last-ditch effort to rally cross-party support for a cabinet to pull France out of its deepening political deadlock.
Macron has asked Lecornu, who tendered his resignation on Monday morning only 27 days after he was appointed and 14 hours after his new cabinet was unveiled, to stay on for 48 hours to hold more “final negotiations” in the interest of national stability, an apparent last-ditch effort try to salvage the administration and chart a way out of the crisis, and buy the French leader some time to decide on his next step.
Lecornu became the shortest-lived Prime Minister in modern French history when he resigned, the country’s France’s fifth Premier since Macron’s re-election in 2022 and the third since the parliamentary dissolution of last year.
There were also signs of growing dissent within Macron’s own ranks, with Gabriel Attal, another former Prime Minister, who leads the President’s centrist party, saying on Monday evening that he no longer understood Macron’s decisions and it was “time to try something else.”
France has been in a political crisis for more than a year since Macron called a snap election in 2024 that produced a hung parliament divided between three more or less equal blocs: the left, far right and Macron’s own centre-right alliance, with no majority.
Next Macron Move Unknown
Macron, now at record-low approval ratings, has not indicated his next move.
His rivals have suggested three options: resign, call new elections, or appoint a Prime Minister from outside his political camp.
The third option, known as “cohabitation,” has been championed by left-wing parties. A leftist coalition, the New Popular Front, won the most seats in the 2024 French legislative election, beating back a far-right surge but failing to win a majority.
The alliance, however, quickly fell apart and both the socialists and the communists are now at odds with Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left party, France Unbowed.
Green party leader, Marine Tondelier told the France Televisions network, “It is the choice of cohabitation — being called to take responsibility and finally being able to truly change the lives of the French — which we prefer.”
On the other side, the far right is calling for snap elections. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, currently leading by far in the polls, believes new legislative elections could work in its favor.
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