France: Stormy Weather with and after Macron!

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ntil President Macron, the shortest-lived government in French history occurred a century ago during the Third Republic and lasted three days. Two months later, World War I began. Three years after that, Alexandre Ribot formed a new government and became prime minister. However, this government also lasted only six to seven months.

Sébastien Lecornu, the third prime minister that President Macron appointed in a year, broke Ribot’s record and the century-long record for both tenure and reappointment. Lecornu spent 26 days appointing his ministers and, according to calculations by the newspaper Le Monde, remained in office for 836 minutes. Furthermore, the fiasco did not end there. The former prime minister was reappointed on Friday evening before the end of the week.

Macron breaks Mitterrand’s record

In a semi-presidential system, the prime minister’s role is largely ceremonial when the president and parliamentary majority belong to the same party. However, when they belong to different parties, the prime minister gains power, which usually results in crisis and chaos. Since the 2024 Early General Elections, though, neither of these scenarios has been the case. With no party holding an absolute majority, sharp ideological divisions, and large and small parties struggling to form alliances, finding a candidate for prime minister and governing within the country’s economic conditions is challenging.

Over the past year, Macron first appointed Michel Barnier, a former European Commission member and chief Brexit negotiator. Barnier is known for his skill in uniting opposites and for his success in negotiating with the UK without causing a rift in Europe. Even Marine Le Pen approved of this choice. Considering the early general election results were announced on July 7, Barnier was a good choice. Macron selected him after two months of deliberation, and he was widely credited by almost everyone. Macron then appointed François Bayrou, the leader of a small centrist Christian democratic party that has run a presidential candidate in every election, as mayor of Pau.

To give you an idea of how well-informed Bayrou is about the world and its countries, he said the following, which would be very understandable in Turkey: “Before the start of EU accession negotiations, let’s give Ankara 20 million euros in the French National Assembly so they give up their candidacy!” He failed to win a vote of confidence after the parliamentary majority rejected his €44 billion austerity budget, and he left, just like Barnier. As for Lecornu, his government faced backlash from not only the opposition but also the president’s own party. Gabriel Attal, the president of the Renaissance Party group and former prime minister whom Macron brought into the country’s history as the youngest prime minister, lashed out at Lecornu, given his characteristics and scandals.

Conversely, when Bruno Retailleau—leader of the Republicans (LR) and Lecornu’s appointee as Minister of the Interior—also reacted, it became clear that the government would not win a vote of confidence. Thus, Macron surpassed Mitterrand’s record. Mitterrand was the Socialist president who appointed the most prime ministers in the Fifth Republic. Mitterrand appointed seven prime ministers over two 14-year terms (the presidential term was seven years at the time; now it is five), whereas Macron surpassed this number in eight years.

Causes of the economic crisis in France

Of course, there are many causes and aspects to this political and economic crisis. Beginning with the most recent and technical issue, Macron aimed to push the 2026 budget through parliament without making concessions. The most controversial item in the budget is Macron’s plan to gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 for individuals born in 1968 or later. This means that individuals who were planning to retire in five years will now have to work two years longer. According to Le Figaro newspaper, if this budget is not passed, “an additional 14 billion euros will be added to the budget each year.”

Many analysts claim that the country is on the brink of financial collapse. The budget deficit exceeds 5% of GDP and is growing, and public debt has reached 3.3 trillion euros (114% of GDP). In other words, France, a G7 and EU founding member, is far from meeting the Maastricht criteria and could not join the EU today, even if it wanted to. In fact, France, the second-largest economy in the EU and the eurozone, is now considered riskier than Greece or Italy. The British press has already begun writing about worst-case scenarios, albeit somewhat exaggerated ones. According to The Independent, “France’s situation not only harms its neighbors, but also encourages the Kremlin.”

Following Lecornu’s resignation, President Macron stated that he would not engage with representatives of the Unbowed Party (LFİ) and the National Rally Party (RN), which he described as “extremist,” and invited all parliamentary parties to the Élysée Palace for consultation. The LFİ, on the far left, is the strongest left-wing party and the second-largest party in the country in terms of votes. The RN, on the far right, is the largest party in the country. Macron himself is responsible for the rise of these two parties. Although the country had already taken a sharp turn toward its current situation, Macron had one more opportunity when he took office at the Élysée Palace in 2017 as the youngest president of the Fifth Republic. During his election campaign, he had stated, “Colonialism is part of France’s history. Colonialism is a crime against humanity.”

“France must apologize,” he said, defending liberal secularism, which means freedom of belief and worship for all, rather than “secularism,” which, in his words, targets Muslims. In response to France’s century-old rhetoric, “Leave your differences at the door and meet in the Republic,” he was talking about opening the door to meeting in the Republic despite differences. With his promises regarding the economy, Europe, and foreign policy, he was perceived as a “savior” and won 66 percent of the vote against Marine Le Pen. Conversely, France in 2017 was not embarrassed by the 17 percent vote for the far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen against Chirac in 2004. The country was becoming accustomed to the far right.

Cultural racism against Muslims was prevalent on the right and left, perpetuated by the media and influential intellectuals. Incidentally, although this is not the subject of the article, it should be emphasized from the outset that this hostility cannot be explained by ISIS terrorist attacks because it has a much more serious history. As for the economic and social environment, it was bleak and troubled. In a country with alarming macroeconomic data, there was a widespread belief that powerful figures in banks and financial centers had fleeced the masses since the 2008 crisis. Additionally, many complained about certain European Union practices.

Islamophobic and extremist attitudes

Contrary to the promises made during the presidential election campaign, France, which has the highest Muslim and Jewish populations in Europe, has quickly introduced legislation that has opened the door to the most Islamophobic rhetoric in continental Europe. The president introduced the concept of “separatism” for Muslims, citing their refusal to eat pork as an example. According to the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, “having a beard, breaking the fast in a group, praying regularly, and not kissing are signs of radicalism.” France has conducted surveys with questions such as, “Have you encountered requests for separate toilets for girls and boys or for taps in toilets?” (IFOP, 12/9/2021).

The Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, criticized Marine Le Pen for being “too soft on Muslims.” Horrific and vulgar cartoons were displayed in government buildings. Two 10- to 11-year-old students who refused to look at the cartoons in class were taken from their homes in the early morning hours with their families and subjected to investigation. After a French brand began selling a hooded tracksuit for women wearing headscarves in its North African online store, senior politicians attacked the brand, stating, “Such a thing cannot be permitted in our civilization,” and Macron’s party spokesperson, Aurore Bergé, called for a boycott.

According to Minister of State Schiappa, “This sporting product was clearly a promotion of political Islam—proof that religion controls everything.” A unique document was published showing the transfer of anti-Muslim sentiment to the state level during Macron’s first term. Imams would swear to abide by this text, and, in their view, so would Muslims. According to the document, Muslims were considered a separate and dangerous group in relation to the French constitution and laws. For example, they had to swear not to “discriminate against sick and disabled people”! Not to mention the number of mosques and associations that were closed, or the civil society organizations that fought against Islamophobia and were shut down!

On the other hand, Macron, who was quickly described as “the president of the rich, but the richest,” introduced the “Green Tax” initiative in his first term, which imposed an additional burden of over 20 percent on the French. For many people living on the outskirts of metropolitan areas who have no choice but to drive because public transportation is unavailable and who live on 700–800 euros, the green tax initiative meant an additional 100 euros in expenses. Shortly after, the government increased the tax deduction from salaries to 37%, while simultaneously granting tax breaks to large companies, abolishing the wealth tax, and implementing legal changes that made it easier to lay off workers.