Macron has little chance of leading France out of the crisis. What the media is writing

The resignation of the next prime minister has driven French President Emmanuel Macron into a corner. The country is in a dead end, which may affect the state of the entire European Union or, at least, the position of Paris in the union. Macron can only hope that in two days he will be able to find a new ally who will lead the government. What the world's media write about the French crisis is in the Izvestia digest.

Bloomberg: Macron is looking for a last chance to negotiate

French President Emmanuel Macron has given his outgoing Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecorgne, until the evening of October 8 to hold talks with France's political parties in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the country from plunging further into crisis. Lecorny unexpectedly resigned early on October 6, explaining his inability to agree on a new cabinet, which was unveiled the previous evening, by the intransigent position of antagonistic political groups, including Macron's centrist minority.

Successive French governments have struggled to hold power since Macron's failed attempt to hold early elections last year further weakened his own centrist group and split the national Assembly into irreconcilable blocs. Deputies of the lower house of parliament forced the resignation of both previous prime ministers Michel Barnier and Francois Bayrou over budget plans and were preparing to do the same with Lecorn this week.

The New York Times: Macron is cornered

The brief and unhappy history of the last French government, whose only achievement was the record for the shortest term in power, is a chronicle of a predicted catastrophe. Lecornu promised a break with the policies of a number of short-lived governments, but he himself was the epitome of continuity and Macron's stubborn desire to remain loyal to his center-right inner circle. This can work when the president controls the parliament. Macron doesn't have that.

Few people expect Macron to leave, and he doesn't have to, but he had to choose the least bad of the many unpleasant options. The current incarnation of the Fifth Republic is most reminiscent of the agony of the Fourth Republic, when chronic instability in parliament and government forced Charles de Gaulle in 1958 to draft a constitution in which presidential power was concentrated in a narrow framework. Macron still has considerable powers, but he seems to be backed into a corner, at least if Lecornu fails in his last-ditch attempt to find a successor.

Reuters: Macron wanders alone along the banks of the Seine

A few hours after his last prime minister was forced to resign after failing to form a cabinet that would last more than a day, Macron was spotted walking alone along the banks of the Seine River on a cold autumn morning. The bodyguards kept their distance from the front and back as he walked out through the wrought-iron gates onto the stone embankment in a black coat.

As his range of options narrows, the unpopular Macron is increasingly isolated within the country, watching former allies distance themselves from him in an effort to increase their chances of succeeding him in the 2027 elections. According to a survey conducted by BFMTV on Monday, almost half of the French blame Macron for the current crisis, while 51% of them believe that his resignation could resolve the impasse.

Politico: Macron's collapse weakens Europe

In Brussels and other European capitals, officials and diplomats expressed personal concerns that Macron's leadership on international issues such as Ukraine and the Gaza Strip would be fatally weakened. Some feared that the entire eurozone economy could soon be at risk as a result.

Some EU diplomats are already privately writing a political obituary for Macron. Having come to power in 2017 and broken the patterns of French politics, they say, he now looks like a "lame duck" whose influence in Brussels is rapidly waning. If he stays, France's influence on EU policy discussions and development is likely to decrease. For example, it would be much easier for France to form discussions between finance ministers on the EU budget if it could constantly send the same person to meetings with colleagues, but constant personnel changes in Paris make it much more difficult for France to maintain its position.

Cut down the Lecture hall: the resignation of the next government leads France into a dead end

How will political instability affect the economy of the country and the whole of Europe

The Washington Post: High standard of living in Europe is becoming increasingly difficult to afford

All over Europe, and especially in France, the time to pay the bills is approaching. The cost of the corporate identity of the humanistic economy — the so—called European way of life, offering healthcare, affordable education and a decent pension for all at the expense of high social costs - is becoming unbearably high. In France, where public debt is skyrocketing, credit ratings are falling, incomes are stagnating, prime ministers are resigning, and the country is sliding into uncontrollability, the public is faced with two questions: will millennials and younger generations live worse than their parents and grandparents? And if not, who will pay for their continued comfort?

France and Germany, longtime pillars of the European Union, are not sure they can still afford to be benchmarks of economic justice for the West. There is a growing consensus that France's economy is stuck in a spiral of low growth and high spending, with budget problems the culmination of the most volatile political period in recent decades. Rigorous calculations show that France's uniquely generous social security system is part of the problem.