Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes France in turmoil
Oct 9, 2025
Célia Belin, a senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Paris office, dives into France’s political chaos, marked by multiple prime minister resignations. She explains Macron’s reluctance to embrace leftist options despite mounting pressures. Belin highlights fragmented centrists, rising calls for Macron's resignation, and the potential for significant political realignments. The conversation also touches on the economic fallout and the possibility of far-right cohabitation. What’s next for France? Belin outlines the critical choices ahead.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Snap Election Gamble Backfired
- Macron called snap elections after poor European results, hoping to realign the assembly with voter preferences.
- That gamble has instead produced prolonged instability and repeated government collapses.
Five-Way Political Fragmentation
- France has fragmented into almost five political blocs, making stable majorities elusive.
- Successive prime ministers have failed because no single coalition can reconcile these divides.
Macron's Centrist Gambit
- Macron keeps appointing centrists but they repeatedly fail to form a majority.
- He refuses to nominate a centre-left prime minister despite that being a plausible alternative.