2024 French political crisis

This article is about the July-August 2024 French government and political crisis. For the mostly December 2023 French government crisis, which brought down the Borne government, see 2023-2024 French government crisis.

France entered a political crisis after the 2024 French legislative election organized by the French president Emmanuel Macron in June 2024. The results placed the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP) in first place (193 MPs) above the presidential party, Renaissance (RE) (166 MPs), in second place, and the far-right party National Rally (RN) (142 MPs) in third place.[1][2] The French government submitted its resignation on 15 July 2024,[3] but was kept in place by the president while awaiting the appointment of a new prime minister to form a new government. At the same time, the caretaker French government continued operations in New Caledonia aimed at "pacifying" the region following unrest and uprisings sparked by a controversial reform. Emmanuel Macron announced to delay the appointment of a new prime minister until after the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.[4] Initially, Macron announced that he would chose a new prime minister in mid-August.[4] In mid-August, Emmanuel Macron said that he would begin consultations with the main political parties on 23 August.[4]

On 26 August, the French president announced his refusal to appoint the NFP candidate as prime minister, contrary to the usual practice of cohabitation in the French Republic, which typically involves the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly being appointed as prime minister.[5] While Macron would like to see a centrist coalition form and called for another round of consultations, the Greens and a faction of the Socialist Party (PS), both minority members of the NFP, have announced their refusal to participate in further discussions.[6] The National Rally (RN), meanwhile, maintained a low-key attitude, aiming to capitalize on the disputes between Macron and the leftist parties that won the elections.[6]

This decision plunged France into a political crisis[7][8] and was followed by an announcement from France Unbowed (LFI), the main party of the NFP, stating their intention to initiate impeachment proceedings against the French president.[9] This was done on the 31st of August.[10]

The caretaker government remained in place so far for 47 days as of 31 August, a very unusual situation in French history and politics,[6] unprecedented since the previous record of 1962, when the fallen Pompidou government stayed for 62 days.[11] If no government were to be appointed by September 16, it would be the longest period without a government in French modern history.[11]

  1. ^ "Jean-Luc Mélenchon défend la proposition d'Huguette Bello, présidente du conseil régional de La Réunion, pour Matignon, et appelle la gauche à faire « vite »". Le Monde.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  2. ^ "Résultats des législatives 2024: NFP en tête selon les premières estimations, devant les macronistes puis le RN". RMC (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  3. ^ David, Romain (2024-07-16). "Emmanuel Macron a accepté la démission de Gabriel Attal et de son gouvernement". Public Sénat (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  4. ^ a b c "DECRYPTAGE. Nouveau Premier ministre : comment Emmanuel Macron "tâtonne" et temporise". ladepeche.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  5. ^ "France's unprecedented and dangerous political situation". 2024-08-27. Archived from the original on 2024-08-27. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  6. ^ a b c Bland, Archie (2024-08-28). "Wednesday briefing: Why Emmanuel Macron doesn't want Lucie Castets as France's prime minister". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  7. ^ "Prez Macron sparks political crisis in France by refusing to appoint leftwing Prime Minister | World News". The Indian Express. 2024-08-27. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  8. ^ Bland, Archie (2024-08-28). "Wednesday briefing: Why Emmanuel Macron doesn't want Lucie Castets as France's prime minister". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  9. ^ Zhang, Sharon (2024-08-27). "Macron Refuses to Appoint Left-Wing Prime Minister, Sparking Call for Protest". Truthout. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  10. ^ "La France insoumise lance une proposition de résolution de destitution d'Emmanuel Macron". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  11. ^ a b David, Romain (2024-08-28). "44 jours de gouvernement démissionnaire : une situation pas totalement inédite". Public Sénat (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.