2024 French political crisis

This article is about the 2024 government and political crisis. For the 2023 government crisis which brought down the Borne government, see 2023–2024 French government crisis.

France entered a political crisis after the 2024 French legislative election organized by the French president Emmanuel Macron in June 2024, which resulted in a hung parliament with the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) leading a plurality of seats. The French government submitted its resignation on 15 July 2024 but was kept in place by the president pending negotiations to appoint a new prime minister to form a new government.

On 26 August, Macron announced his refusal to appoint the NFP candidate as prime minister, which typically involves the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly being appointed as prime minister. Macron desired for a centrist coalition to form and called for another round of consultations. The Greens and a faction of the Socialist Party (PS), both minority members of the NFP, announced their refusal to participate in further discussions. This decision plunged France into a political crisis and was followed by France Unbowed (LFI), the main party of the NFP, initiating impeachment proceedings against the French president on 31 August.

The caretaker government remained in place for 51 days, unprecedented since the fallen Pompidou government lasted 62 days in 1962. If no government had been appointed by 16 September, it would have been the longest period without a government in modern French history.

President Macron named Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September. Barnier appointed his minority government composed of Ensemble, The Republicans, the Democratic Movement and Horizons. Three months later, following its usage of article 49.3 of the French constitution in order to push a social service financing bill without a parliamentary vote, the government was toppled by a motion of no confidence voted by the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) and far-right National Rally (RN); it was the first government to suffer such a fate since 1962 and became the shortest-tenured in the history of the Fifth Republic.

Background

The 2024 European Parliament election in France saw the RN arrive in first place with thirty seats out of a total of 80. In response, Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called a snap legislative election for 30 June and 7 July. The legislative election resulted in a hung parliament, with the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP) leading a plurality of 193 MPs, above Macron's Renaissance in second place with 166 MPs, followed by the RN in third place with 142.

The government of Gabriel Attal submitted its resignation on 15 July 2024. At the same time, it was engaged in trying to handle the 2024 New Caledonia unrest, following Renaissance's attempt to implement a controversial reform of voting rights on the island in May 2024.

Events

Formation of the Barnier government

Macron delayed the appointment of a new prime minister until after the 2024 Summer Olympics, announcing that an "Olympic truce" should be respected, which was already a singular choice in French politics. By mid-August, he had still not appointed a prime minister but instead announced his intention to consult with the various parties, which was done on 23 August.

On 26 August, after meeting the leaders of the National Rally (RN), Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, Macron announced that, contrary to the usual practice of cohabitation in France, he would not appoint Lucie Castets, the candidate nominated by the NFP to become prime minister. This decision exacerbated the crisis, and France Unbowed (LFI), the main party within the NFP, announced its intention to initiate impeachment proceedings against him. While Macron would have liked to see a centrist coalition form and called for another round of consultations, the Greens and a faction of the Socialist Party (PS), both minority members of the NFP, announced their refusal to participate in further discussions. The National Rally (RN), meanwhile, maintained a low-key attitude, aiming to capitalize on the disputes between Macron and the leftist parties that won the elections. Various organizations called for protests and strikes to be held on 7 September.

On 28 August, former president François Hollande, himself a member of the NFP, called the crisis an "institutional fault". On the same day, Macron announced that he would meet the leaders of the French regions. On 29 August, the Socialist Party opened its summer university, where two opposing factions were expected to clash: those aligned with the political stance of the party's president, Olivier Faure, supporting Lucie Castets' candidacy, and the dissenters, such as Carole Delga and Bernard Cazeneuve, who advocated for an alliance with Emmanuel Macron's party and what they call the "republican forces".

Macron notably spoke with Delga on the morning of the 29th. Meanwhile, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's largest trade union, condemned what it called a "power grab" by Macron and called for a day of strikes and protests on 1 October against the budget announced by the caretaker government, while refusing to say to participate in the 7 September planned protests, announcing that they preferred to focus on social and economic issues instead of political ones. The same evening, Ségolène Royal, a former Socialist Party candidate in the 2007 presidential election, who left the party in 2017 when she was appointed as an ambassador by Macron before "discreetly" rejoining the party in 2021 after being ousted from said post, announced that she was "available" for the position.

On 30 August, former president Nicolas Sarkozy called for a right-wing prime minister to be named.

On 31 August, France Unbowed (LFI) officially launched the proceedings to impeach Emmanuel Macron, using article 68 of the French constitution, that states that the president "can only be removed from office in the event of a breach of duties that is clearly incompatible with the exercise of their mandate."

President Macron named Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September. Barnier appointed his minority government composed of Ensemble and The Republicans.

Collapse of the Barnier government

Main article: Collapse of the Barnier government

On 4 December, Prime minister Michel Barnier was ousted in the first successful no-confidence vote since 1962, prompted by budgetary disputes. Barnier formally resigned from office on 5 December, which made him the shortest serving prime minister in the Fifth Republic.

Formation of the Bayrou government

Main article: Bayrou government

On 13 December, Macron appointed Democratic Movement leader François Bayrou as Prime Minister. According to Le Monde, the appointment of Bayrou was decided on at the last minute, with Macron originally telling Bayrou that he would not be named Prime Minister, only to be forced to appoint Bayrou shortly afterwards when Bayrou threatened to pull his support from Macron.

Following Bayrou's appointment, Moody's Ratings cut the French credit rating, saying that it was "our view that the country's public finances will be substantially weakened over the coming years" and that "political fragmentation is more likely to impede meaningful fiscal consolidation."