Open Editor's Digest for free
Rula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he bears responsibility for the political divisions caused by his decision to hold early parliamentary elections in the summer, saying the move created “more instability than peace.”
“I must realize tonight that the solution has, at the moment, brought more divisions to the Assembly than solutions to the French people,” he said in his annual New Year's address. “I fully admit it.”
The speech, Macron's eighth as president, concludes a year that has seen his political influence significantly weakened by the dissolution of the party in June, which empowered the far-right National Rally and left the French parliament divided into three blocs.
After the disappointing performance of its centrist candidates in the European elections at the beginning of last June. Macron France stunned France by dissolving parliament, saying the country needed a “moment of clarification” to address the rise of the National Front in the European elections.
But subsequent elections produced a decisive rejection of his centrist, pro-business agenda and made France's National Front the largest party in a divided parliament.
Macron appointed conservative politician and former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as prime minister in September. However, he was ousted in a no-confidence motion last month after being unable to muster support from the left and far right for a budget aimed at reducing France's deficit, which has swelled to more than 6 percent in 2024.
Since then, Macron has appointed his ally François Bayrou as prime minister. He called on politicians to compromise in 2025, and suggested he might also ask French voters to cast their ballots again next year.
“I will also ask you to decide on some key issues, because each of you will have a role to play,” he said in comments that many commentators said suggested possible referendums in 2025.
Macron also pointed to the foreign policy challenges France will face next year.
After the re-election of Donald Trump as US President, who called for increased defense spending by NATO allies, Macron said: “Europe can no longer delegate its security and defense to other powers,” reiterating his calls for more European defense spending.
He also called on Europe to “simplify its rules” to encourage more investment from business.
But the speech is unlikely to change perceptions of Macron among voters. His popularity has fallen to a record low this year, with only 21 percent of people expressing confidence in his ability to address France's problems, in a poll conducted by Elabe in December.
His far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, said in her New Year's message on Tuesday that “late regret or routine pleas from a head of state that has been irretrievably discredited will not change anything.”
Although she did not explicitly call on Macron to hold early presidential elections before the next elections scheduled for 2027, Le Pen said that 2025 would be a “decisive year,” adding that France could only solve its problems through a “democratic decision.”
