Galloway concert: Macron stayed in the presidential chair

The political crisis in France is entering a new phase. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecorny has completed the last negotiations with parliament before his resignation. According to him, a new prime minister may be appointed in the next 48 hours. Prior to this, the deputies of the "Unconquered France" put forward an initiative to impeach the president of the country, but the bureau of the National Assembly declared it unacceptable. Is there a chance to resolve the political crisis and what are Macron's prospects — in the Izvestia article.

Macron remains in office as president

The government crisis continues in France. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecorny has completed the last consultations with Parliament before his resignation and addressed the press. According to him, the forces in parliament are ready to continue the dialogue on the budget and hope to adopt it before December 31. He added that the prospect of parliament's dissolution was fading into the background. Macron is betting on another attempt to reach an agreement with the National Assembly.

Prior to that, on October 8, the "Unconquered France" (LFI) submitted to the country's parliament an initiative to impeach (destitute) the president under Article 68 of the French Constitution. The Parliamentary Bureau did not pass it by 10 votes against and five in favor, but the fact itself is quite significant.

The reason was the political impasse that the authorities reached when discussing the draft budget for 2026. On Monday, Lecornoux, a close associate of Macron, resigned just 27 days after being appointed to the post. His government became the most "short-lived" in the history of modern France.

For Macron, this means an even deeper phase of the crisis. The October Elabe polls show that the French leader has broken another anti-record: his approval rating is 14%. He fails to pass the draft budget, and the prime ministers leave before they can begin work.

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

What will the French president do next?

There is currently a bidding process between Macronists and leftists in parliament, Sergei Fedorov, a leading researcher at the Department of Social and Political Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia. If they manage to reach an agreement, the leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, may become Prime minister of the country.

"But this is strongly opposed by the far—right National Union — Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, who now heads the party, and a significant part of the Republicans," Fedorov said.

In order to form a government, all parties within the New Popular Front need to come to an agreement. It includes Unconquered France, the Socialist Party (PS), Ecologists (EELV/Les Écologistes), the French Communist Party (PCF), Place Publique and Generations (Génération·s, G.s).

— The New People's Front is already in full swing, everyone is fighting with each other there. Nevertheless, it may be possible to unite the left-wing opposition with the centrist—Macronist bloc, and then there will be the possibility of a new government," the expert added.

In case of failure, Macron will have no choice but to dissolve parliament, Fedorov believes. In this case, the situation will worsen significantly for him: the Macronists will lose even more seats in the National Assembly, and the extreme right may even gain a majority.

The resolution of the current crisis cannot be limited only to the dissolution of the National Assembly, which can be carried out quickly, former MEP Herve Jouven said in an interview with Izvestia. The Fifth Republic needs a government majority capable of giving the French a future, and today only Le Pen embodies the country's hope.

"The worst scenario is if the president, who has lost support, tries to stay in power through war by silencing the opposition: in war, any opponent is declared a traitor," the MEP said.

According to him, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Macron and other European leaders are trying to drag their nations into a war against Russia in order to find salvation from internal problems.

Presidential term: Sarkozy's sentence intensifies the political crisis in France

The former head of state was sentenced to five years in the "Libyan case", but acquitted of the most serious charges.

Causes of the political crisis

The bill, which caused intense controversy, proposed to reduce social spending and remove two public holidays in order to reduce the country's budget deficit of €44 billion. Macronists propose to keep military spending of €3 billion at the same level. The political forces in Parliament do not agree with this scenario. Ordinary citizens are also opposed to the government's policy: there have been several waves of strikes and protests in the country.

Lecorny has changed the terms of the draft budget. The holiday clause was removed from it, and Matignon's operating expenses were frozen in 2026 and additional taxes were levied on financial assets in holding companies. The president's entourage also made it clear that they were ready to discuss a pause in the pension reform, the draft of which was the main economic achievement of the Macronists. But it wasn't enough.

Macron's main task is to reduce the national debt, which is growing rapidly, adds Fedorov. At the same time, no one knows what to do next, since it is no longer possible to live in debt. The French parliament is fragmented, and every political force in it demands something of its own from the government - in such conditions, it is very difficult for the authorities to obtain the necessary majority for the draft budget. The left-wing opposition demands a review of pension reform, taxation of the rich, and prioritization of social spending in the draft budget for 2026. Bardella's "National Association" declares that it will not tolerate the "continuation of Macronism" and demands new elections to the National Assembly from the government.

At the same time, in early October, a nationwide day of protests was held in the country, almost 200 thousand people took to the streets. On October 9, France will face strikes by power engineers and doctors, as well as trade union rallies. Citizens' dissatisfaction with the dysfunctionality of their own government against the backdrop of the unfolding economic crisis in the country will only grow.

Whether the new prime minister will be able to pass the draft budget through parliament or not depends on the compliance of the deputies. The situation with Lecorny has shown that the opposition feels Macron's weakness and demands more and more concessions from him. In such circumstances, everything depends on what the French leader is willing to sacrifice for the sake of the budget law.