French President Emmanuel Macron stated that it would be crucial to reassess Europe’s relationship with Russia after the war in Ukraine, while the French government faces pressure from the opposition.
Macron made the comments during a peaceful gathering hosted by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Paris on Sunday.
We will have to think about a new form of organisation of Europe and rethink our relations with Russia after the war in Ukraine. This is undoubtedly the greatest challenge of our time, because our current order is incomplete and unjust. It is incomplete because it was conceived at the end of World War II, and therefore did not have in its heart the problems that later emerged and became dominant.
He also noted that “most countries on this planet and many of the most populous countries did not exist when the seats were allocated”. He therefore called for a rethinking of the world order.
Meanwhile, the new government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier is facing pressure from opposition politicians on both sides of the political spectrum amid growing threats of a vote of no confidence in parliament. Barnier is due to present a budget plan for 2025 that takes into account what he called the country’s “very serious” financial situation.
The long wait for a functioning government ended late Saturday night, 11 weeks after Macron called an early general election. Left-wing opposition politicians have already said they will challenge Barnier’s government with a vote of no confidence, with national-oriented politicians also criticising its composition.
Macron argued that the left could not muster enough support to form a government that would not be immediately overthrown by parliament, and rejected the National Rally candidate due to the party’s alleged extremist heritage. Instead, he turned to Barnier to lead the government, relying mainly on parliamentary support from allies.
Shaky government
Negotiations over the allocation of 39 cabinet posts continued until the official announcement on Saturday, insiders said, with moments of sharp tension between the president and his prime minister.
Leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called the new line-up “a government of the general election losers.” France, he said, should “get rid” of the government “as soon as possible.” On Monday, he responded to accusations against him on X:
On Tuesday, September 24, I have to go and respond to a complaint for insult filed by a Macron minister about my reaction to a banned conference in Lille. On Friday, a Marseille lawyer proclaims herself a “Zionist” and threatens to kill two MPs on a restaurant terrace by exploding their cell phones! Which prosecutor will react? Yet how many people like Rima Hassan and Mathilde Panot have been summoned by the courts for “apology for terrorism”? Is there a difference? Of course. None of them have threatened to kill anyone. So? And the Marseille bar? Silence. Surprising, isn’t it?
Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Saturday in a left-wing protest to denounce what they called the results of July’s election. Socialist Party chairman Olivier Faure called Barnier’s cabinet “a reactionary government that gives democracy the finger.”
Although Macron’s Renaissance party had to abandon some key positions, it still won a majority of 12 ministerial posts out of 39. However, former French President Francois Hollande called the cabinet “the same as before, but with an even stronger presence of the right.”
A vote of no confidence requires an absolute majority in parliament, which would then force the government to resign immediately. However, this is currently an unlikely scenario, as the right and the left, sworn enemies, would have to vote unanimously.
