The writer is a former French minister of state for Europe
In the European parliament elections of 2014, France’s Socialist and conservative parties suffered losses and Marine Le Pen’s far-right forces made strong gains. She called for immediate national parliamentary elections but did not get them. Ten years later, it has been a different story — with uncertain consequences for France’s political stability and its economy.
In early July, the National Assembly elections called by President Emmanuel Macron produced a legislature split into three blocs: a broad and internally divided leftist coalition, Macron’s centrists and the far right. Since then, the most powerful offices have been distributed in a way that is less than fully aligned with the results. The far right has no representatives in these posts. The far left has some, thanks to far-right votes. The centrist camp, despite being the biggest loser of the elections, has the largest representation.