Macron admits snap elections created more instability for France

RFI

1 January 2025 at 3:29 am·1-min read

French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier justified his decision to call snap polls in the wake of the European elections by the need to "clarify" the political situation.

In a traditional New Year's Eve address, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that his decision to call early parliamentary elections in June had brought more political instability to France rather than "solutions for the French people" – acknowledging that the high-stakes move had led to months of political deadlock.

The speech caps a tumultuous 2024 for Macron, who shocked the nation in June by unilaterally calling snap elections after the far right National Rally trounced his centrist bloc in the European polls.

His gamble backfired when voters delivered a hung parliament with a big increase in far-right lawmakers, limiting Macron's power.

"Lucidity and humility force (me) to recognise that at this stage, this decision has produced more instability than peace, and I fully own up to that," Macron said in a televised address ahead of New Year's celebrations.

"The dissolution caused more divisions in the assembly than solutions for the French people," he added, in the clearest mea culpa since the elections.

Macron had justified his decision to call snap polls in the wake of the European elections by the need to "clarify" the political situation.

"I want us to act with 2050 in our sights. We will have choices to make, for our economy, our democracy, our security, our children," he said.

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