These days, it seems as if France has a new prime minister almost daily considering how easily one can be appointed, ousted, forced to resign and reappointed. To add to this was the recent robbery at the Louvre, which shook the entire nation. However, in all this exists a paradox: a weak France internally, but strong on the international stage.
An explanation of the French system
France has a semi-presidential system with a president serving as head of state and prime minister as head of government. France’s current president, Emmanuel Macron, is directly elected by the people every five years. The president of France also has the authority to dissolve parliament and call for new parliamentary elections, known as snap elections. In general, France has parliamentary elections every five years.
France’s current prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, was appointed by the president. In general, the prime minister oversees the day-to-day domestic policy and is responsible for forming a government. The lower house of France’s parliament, the Assemblée Nationale, can remove the prime minister through a vote of no confidence, if they loose confidence in the prime minister’s ability to govern. If this happens, the president must appoint a new prime minister, thereby restarting the process.
The protest against Macronism
At its core, much of the current crisis inside France stems from the deep unpopularity of Macron’s policies.The first of these challenges occurred in 2018, when protests broke out following the French government’s proposed increase in fuel taxes. These protests, known as the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests), were primarily led by people living on the outskirts of cities who saw the fuel tax as making their livelihoods more expensive.
While protestors succeeded in making the French government drop the fuel tax, the movement revealed just how unpopular and out of touch Macron was with the French public outside of Paris. According to Radio France Internationale, the movement personally shook France’s president, but his response only made matters worse.
A second major crisis Macron faced came in 2022, when protests erupted in vehement opposition to the government’s plans to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. From the French government’s perspective, the current system is unsustainable, relying on the working-age population to fund pensions. In some respects, this view is well-warranted, given France’s declining birth rate and aging population. However, in the public’s view, Macron’s reforms infringe upon the lifestyle of “work-life” balance, and his method of forcing the reform without a parliamentary vote only heightened tensions.
The third major crisis Macron faced came with his decision to call snap elections in June 2024. At the time, Macron said, “Far-right parties … are progressing everywhere on the continent. It is a situation to which I cannot resign myself.”
However, Macron’s party suffered a defeat. While the far-right did not win, the election produced a hung parliament with no party winning a majority. This gamble by the president was so disastrous Macron himself admitted he had made a “mistake” by calling the snap elections.
Macron’s legacy: being Charles de Gaulle 2.0 on the world stage
Amid domestic unpopularity, the crowning achievement of President Macron has been foreign policy.
Since his election, a central platform of Macron’s government has been promoting a vision of “European strategic autonomy.” Macron’s 2017 speech at the Sorbonne University outlined his vision, arguing Europe needs greater independence in defense and calling for the euro to play a stronger role internationally. For many years, France’s view of “strategic autonomy” was sidelined, as many countries such as Poland, Germany and Denmark, continued to support the transatlantic relationship.
However, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024, “what was once a parochial French position has become mainstream across Europe.” In this environment, France has taken the position of leading Europe, as seen in Macron’s speech in the United Kingdom, where he insisted London and Paris have a “responsibility” to protect Europe. Likewise, in September, France and the U.K. co-chaired a meeting in Paris to discuss continued support for Ukraine amid U.S. uncertainty.
In the Indo-Pacific, France became the first European country to release an “Indo-Pacific” strategy. Since then, France has been at the forefront of promoting a “third axis” to counterbalance growing Sino-American tensions. One early example was Macron’s 2018 proposal for a Paris-New Delhi-Canberra “axis” to balance the U.S. and China. Even though AUKUS shelved these plans, France continued to play an assertive role in the region. For example, France has bolstered its defense ties with India, Indonesia and Vietnam. In fact, France was the first EU country to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with Vietnam. More recently, during Macron’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, he proposed a “coalition of independents” and even referenced the 1955 Bandung Conference to position France as a partner for countries in the region seeking to be “non-aligned.”
In the Middle East, France has bolstered its relations with the United Arab Emirates. Macron became the first European leader to meet with terrorist turned Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. France has also taken on a more active role in Iran’s nuclear talks through the E3. Perhaps most importantly, in September, France officially recognized the State of Palestine. France’s recognition of Palestine despite U.S. opposition is akin to Charles de Gaulle’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China in 1964.
While it is still too early to tell how long this paradox français can last, in a world increasingly defined by uncertainty, France is intent on shaping its outcomes rather than staying on the sidelines.
Featured image: Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash
Edited by James Sutton & Nancy Martin
Originally Published on November 1, 2025. Edited on November 7, 2025.
