French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation after the National Assembly ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a historic no-confidence vote that left France without a functioning government. John Goodman, Director of Syracuse University’s flagship program in France, shared his thoughts below on this news. If you’d like to set up an interview with him, please reach out to Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.
Goodman writes: “France’s political crisis can be captured by the title of the famous Sartre play – ‘No Exit’. After President Macron’s speech tonight, there appears no escape from the impasse created after he dissolved the National Assembly in June and called for new elections. Essentially, Macron said tonight that he would not resign – in doing so, acknowledging that this was in fact an open question – and that he would try again to name a prime minister that could set up a government. If you don’t succeed at first, try again …
In the meantime, he tried to reassure the French, saying that, regardless of the political situation, the 2024 budget would be rolled over into 2025, and a new budget adopted in January 2025. In essence, Christmas will be saved, salaries will be paid (but may not get increases for inflation).
Macron reminded viewers of all that the country had faced under his leadership, including COVID, the war in Ukraine, the Paris Olympics, and the rebuilding of Notre-Dame cathedral. But also repeated again and again that he had “30 months” left in his term, as if he himself were counting the days.
France’s crisis is for now still a political crisis. There is no larger unrest. Politics will most likely painfully limp along in the months to come – unless a new variable is introduced and takes the current situation in an even more serious direction.”
