France Gives Birth to a ‘Stillborn’ President

The man with ambitions to lead Europe looks like he will not even be able to lead his own country. For President Macron has lost his parliamentary majority and has been humiliated by voters just weeks after being re-elected by an apathetic electorate. The latest results counted 246 seats for Mr. Macron’s party, Ensemble, 142 seats for the left alliance known as Nupes, 89 seats for Marine Le Pen’s, Rassemblement National, and 64 seats for the center-right Gaullist-inspired Les Républicains.The vote — largely seen as one directly opposed to Mr. Macron — is a disaster for the Frenchman. He lost critical parliamentary allies, including his former interior minister who presided over the suppression of the gilets jaunes, Christophe Castaner; the environment minister, Amélie de Montchalin; the minister of solidarity and health, Brigitte Bourguignon; and the president of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand. Mr. Macron’s legislative agenda, headlined by pension reform and an increased retirement age, also appears doomed — and the results raise questions about his ability to govern with two antithetical parties as the strongest opponents in the parliament.It was not that long ago that Mr. Macron was in near hysterics when warning voters against electing candidates of the far-left and the far-right. Yet the electorate repudiated his warnings and Mr. Macron is now a “stillborn” president, as Alexis Brézet, the editorial director of Le Figaro, said this morning.Marine Le Pen, meanwhile, emerges from these elections as the new political heavyweight in the National Assembly. Her party increased its representation from nine seats to 89. Most of the polls had predicted between 20 and 40 seats. It remains to be seen whether Madame Le Pen will be as convincing in the Assembly as she was on the campaign trail. Still, the election results are further proof of a shift to the right. What about the left alliance, the Nupes? It is a new, untested alliance of four leftist parties: La France Insoumise (rebellious), Socialists, Greens, and the Communists. How effective its opposition will be will likely become more apparent once it is tried on legislation on which the four parties disagree. Ad hoc groupings between, say, the Communists and the Greens could yet emerge amid disagreements within the wider group.Ad hoc parliamentary groupings are also the best that Mr. Macron can now hope for if he is to pass any reforms. He has few allies and is likely to pay a high price. The Républicains, whose 64 seats could give Mr. Macron the absolute majority he needs, have so far ruled out cohabitation. Though a few stragglers could yet cross sides, the party’s leadership appears intent on rebuilding while in the opposition. This is in many respects a new era in French politics — or, perhaps, a return to days of old. General de Gaulle forged the Fifth Republic to hamstring parliament and put an end to the chaos of the Fourth Republic. So, we have returned to some version of the Fourth.Yet it is unclear whether Mr. Macron comprehends much of this. The extent of the delusion was illustrated last night when the president’s spokeswoman, Olivia Grégoire, said, “It’s a disappointing first place, but it’s a first place nonetheless.”So, with the French parliament in disarray, the country facing a cost of living and debt crisis, an energy crisis, crises in the schools and hospitals — and all amid the most serious military conflict in Europe since 1945 — it’s all too typical that Mr. Macron emerges, ostensibly cool and collected, as if nothing has happened.

France Gives Birth to a ‘Stillborn’ President

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