Once again, the French are plunged into confusion. A habit since the dissolution of the National Assembly ordered by President Emmanuel Macron after the European elections last June. While the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, resolved this Monday, December 2 to go through force, via a 49.3, to have his Social Security budget adopted, the deputies will decide whether his government will pass the three-month mark. “The countdown is on for the Barnier government”, headline our Belgian colleagues from Evening. For them, everything will depend on “the attitude of the extreme right, which raises the stakes.” The American site Politico agrees: “The French government is hanging by a thread while the far right threatens to pull the trigger.”
Even more scathing, a vitriolic editorial from the Spanish daily El País refers to a French president “sponsored by Marine Le Pen, head of the National Rally”, a party on which the survival of the government depends. Despite the concessions obtained from the Prime Minister, the figure of the extreme right will vote on the motion of censure tabled by the left, at the risk of “plunging France into uncertainty”, still according to El País. In its pages, a “twilight” and “faded since the Olympic Games” Emmanuel Macron is described. The tone is not more flattering for the tenant of Matignon, presented as being “on the edge of the precipice”.
Among the Swiss, we are ironic. “Our Lady, pray for France (and Emmanuel Macron)”, headlines an editorial in Time in reference to the reopening of the cathedral, a solemn moment that the head of state hopes to transform into a political highlight. “But it will take more to reassure our neighbors,” complains the French-speaking daily. In order to highlight the multiple twists and turns in the National Assembly in recent months, a columnist abuses the lexical field of fiction: “French budgetary psychodrama”, “soap opera”, even going so far as to speak of a “Lépine budgetary competition “.
“France’s imminent dilemma”
On the side of the British daily The Guardian, located on the left on the political spectrum, now is the time for understanding. We are trying to dissect what will happen in the event of a vote of no confidence against the government. And to reassure: “There is no fear of a shutdown American-style since the French constitution allows a government – even an interim government – to adopt an emergency law extending the previous year’s budget by a few months, so that public sector workers, for example, can continue to be paid.”
THE New York Times, he speaks of an “imminent dilemma for France”, insisting “no trust, no government, no budget.” The American national daily looks back on the political crisis and the journey of Michel Barnier, appointed in September 2024, who experienced “Matignon’s hell”, an expression used by generations of political commentators to describe the difficulties of this function.
More alarmist, the continuous news channel CNN predicted a “France in political chaos” if this motion of censure of the opposition parties was adopted. He added: “A government collapse would also spook financial markets, worried about whether Europe’s second-largest economy has both the fiscal discipline and policies needed to put its finances in order.” CNN recalls that France’s budget deficit is expected to reach 6.1% of GDP in 2024, more than double the amount authorized by the European Commission.
Behind this political crisis, the Belgian newspaper, The eveningasks the question: “Is there an anticipated presidential election, so much demanded by the rebel Jean-Luc Mélenchon?” To be continued.