France's political upheaval isn't temporary - it's a profound constitutional crisis | Pierre Purseigle

"Few expect Macron to return from Egypt with a solution to the deepening domestic political crisis he presides over, however. Fewer still have enough trust in a government so subservient to Macron that it can survive the forthcoming deliberations of the National Assembly. Because this is no conventional parliamentary crisis, but a crise de regime. Inspired by Charles de Gaulle's vision of executive pre-eminence vested in a quasi-monarchic presidential ascendancy,"

"Defeated in the June 2024 European elections, Macron dissolved parliament and called snap elections, recklessly risking the ignominy of the far right, then riding an unprecedented wave of support in the polls, gaining power. Against all expectations, a hastily assembled leftwing coalition and a campaign of tactical voting thwarted Marine Le Pen's National Rally. But no political group achieved enough seats in the fragmented electoral landscape that emerged from the election, to govern alone."

"At the heart of the problem lie the nature of the presidential office and the current incumbent's politics. Yet Macron defied democratic logic and parliamentary arithmetic. He rebuffed the centre-left's claim that it had earned the right to attempt to form a government. Instead, he successively appointed conservative and centrist prime ministers to head up minority administrations, incapable of resolving a fiendishly complex political equation."

Sebastien Lecornu resigned unexpectedly then was reappointed and assembled a new cabinet for Emmanuel Macron just before Macron left for the Gaza peace summit. Macron faces a deepening domestic political crisis driven by a hung parliament, severe fiscal pressure and international volatility. The Fifth Republic's presidential-centered system modeled on de Gaulle is struggling to function. Macron dissolved parliament after poor European election results, gambled on snap elections, then benefited from a polling surge while a leftwing coalition blocked the far right. No group holds a majority, and successive minority governments have failed to resolve the political deadlock, threatening budget passage.

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