France has a government. Why that鈥檚 news.
| Paris
A fragile French Cabinet was readying itself at the weekend for an early battle over Prime Minister S茅bastien Lecornu鈥檚 belt-tightening budget, as opposition parties sought new opportunities to bring the government down.
Steering French politics into slightly calmer waters, Mr. Lecornu narrowly survived two no-confidence votes in Parliament on Thursday, winning a reprieve for his days-old government but paving the way for a tough budget debate.
Mr. Lecornu is the seventh prime minister to hold that post since President Emmanuel Macron took office in 2017, a sign of political instability that most French citizens blame on their politicians 鈥� especially on Mr. Macron.
Why We Wrote This
France has become a byword for political instability - nine governments in eight years - and French voters are increasingly fed up with their politicians. But beyond the uncertainty, they still have faith in their institutions.
鈥淔rench people aren鈥檛 fed up with politics, we鈥檙e fed up with politicians,鈥� says Charles Bok, standing at the long metal counter of a popular Parisian caf茅, reading a newspaper. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always the same characters, over and over. We鈥檙e in a vicious cycle.鈥�
Questions continue to swirl over both Mr. Macron鈥檚 ability to lead the country and why opposition parties have been unable to find compromises and work together. Some of Mr. Macron鈥檚 closest allies have said he should step down, while his critics have gone as far as to call France ungovernable.
Even amid the country鈥檚 ongoing political crisis, and despite growing disenchantment with their politicians, of French people say they still have faith in their institutions. But they are demanding change. And many say that only a major shake-up can heal France鈥檚 political fractures.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like the word 鈥榗risis,鈥� but this is definitely an unprecedented situation in the history of the Fifth Republic,鈥� founded in 1958, says Pierre Br茅chon, professor emeritus of political science at Sciences Po Grenoble. 鈥淧olitical parties are too radical, no one is willing to make concessions. Things have reached vaudeville proportions.鈥�
Faith in politicians erodes
But everything is relative, says Miroslav Antonic. He moved to France 20 years ago from Serbia, after a decade of war in the former Yugoslavia.
鈥淲hen you compare France with other countries outside Western Europe, it鈥檚 doing pretty well,鈥� says Mr. Antonic, leaning against the same metal caf茅 counter as Mr. Bok. 鈥淢y country is very corrupt, autocratic. France is at least an organized country.鈥�
Still, though Mr. Antonic says he continues to vote and read the news, he has found it harder to have faith in French politicians or to expect change when the same faces reappear at each election.
Dominique de Villepin and Edouard Philippe, both former prime ministers, have hinted at their intentions to run for president in 2027. When Mr. Lecornu formed his first Cabinet last month, he retained two-thirds of the ministers from the previous government.
Meanwhile, the recent criminal convictions of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and former President Nicolas Sarkozy have only confirmed a sense among the French that their politicians are corrupt. Ms. Le Pen was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds, while Mr. Sarkozy, who will go to prison next week, was convicted of criminal conspiracy in connection with alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 election campaign.
Few voters believe Ms. Le Pen鈥檚 and Mr. Sarkozy鈥檚 protestations that they have been victimized by the judicial system.
In an annual poll by the Center For Political Research at Sciences Po, only 26% of French people said they trusted politicians, using words like 鈥渨ariness,鈥� 鈥渋llegitimate,鈥� and 鈥渃orrupt鈥� in connection with their leaders. Germans and Italians, by contrast, approved of their politicians at a rate of 47% and 39%, respectively.
鈥淧eople are tired and they reject the entire political class,鈥� says Martin Quencez, a political analyst in Paris for the German Marshall Fund of the United States. 鈥淭hat used to be a sentiment that would help the center or right, but now it covers all parties. There is this feeling that we need a major change.鈥�
When 鈥渃ompromise鈥� equates to 鈥済iving in鈥�
That change could come in several forms. Mr. Philippe, Mr. Macron鈥檚 first prime minister, suggested this month that the president should cut his losses and step down. More than budget negotiations or differences on any single issue, the French still haven鈥檛 forgiven Mr. Macron for calling snap elections in July 2024 that resulted in the current political deadlock.
After his party鈥檚 defeat in the European elections in late June last year, Mr. Macron dissolved Parliament and called new elections. But instead of bringing more clarity, the vote resulted in a hung Parliament, in which none of three mutually hostile blocs command a majority.
Mr. Macron could have picked a new prime minister from the left-wing alliance, which had edged ahead of the far-right and center parties. But he chose a right-wing ally, angering a wide range of voters, including supporters of his originally more centrist policies.
Dr. Br茅chon, the political science professor, says the dissolution was the moment when France experienced a seismic shift, showing that neither the government nor the opposition were willing to follow the examples of Germany鈥檚 or Spain鈥檚 coalition governments. In France, 鈥渃ompromise鈥� is equated with 鈥済iving in.鈥�
Mr. Macron could still walk away, say observers, but he is more likely to hang on until the next presidential election in 2027.
鈥淚s this all Macron鈥檚 fault? No,鈥� says Benjamin Morel, a public law professor at the Universit茅 Paris 2 Panth茅on-Assas. 鈥淏ut he has definitely become an irritant to a large part of his own party.鈥�
Those not calling for Mr. Macron鈥檚 resignation say other things need to happen to change the political landscape. Young people need to stay engaged in politics. Opposition parties should start working together like their European neighbors. The public should still get out and vote.
But some people, including Coline Verger, want a drastic change. She says she finds the current situation 鈥渃omical鈥� and yet can鈥檛 help reading the news each morning.
鈥淗onestly, I鈥檇 like it very much if there was another movement like the Yellow Vest movement,鈥� says Ms. Verger, referring to the year-long protests that began in 2018 against rising fuel prices and the high cost of living. 鈥淚 think instead of a small protest each week, we need one huge one that blocks everything. That鈥檚 how the French Revolution took place.
鈥淲e need to stop complaining, have a true rupture with what鈥檚 happening and revive our country. I鈥檓 not giving up yet.鈥�
