Le Monde: Deepening crisis in France and citizens' distrust Survey results

The French newspaper Le Monde has published an article focusing on the political paralysis in France. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

The democratic crisis France is struggling with is nothing new, but the scale it has amounted to in the wake of Emmanuel Macron's dissolution of the Assemblée Nationale on June 9 is chilling: The president appears profoundly discredited, as well as the Assemblée Nationale; politicians are widely mistrusted; the political landscape is divided into three blocs, each of which is rejected by the other two; the far-right Rassemblement National's image is relatively resilient compared to the massive rejection experienced by the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI).

Each of these elements, highlighted by a survey carried out by Ipsos for Le Monde, the Fondation Jean Jaurès, the Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po and the Institut Montaigne, shed light on the worrying moment the country is going through. They describe the effects of the virtual paralysis of political life since the outcome of the July 7 parliamentary elections, which resulted in a hung parliament being prolonged beyond reason. At the same time, they show the enormous risk of allowing the situation to deteriorate further.

If Macron doesn't appoint a prime minister soon, if he doesn't act swiftly to bring about change, the incomprehension that the survey highlights risks turning into exasperation that could lead some voters to express themselves in ways other than through the ballot box, by considering that voting is now useless.

Each side has questions to ask

The survey carried out during the Olympic Games does not dwell on the structural reasons that have been fuelling the rise in political mistrust for years, in France as in many other democracies: Crises resulting from policies and the question of representation. It does, however, highlight the harmful effect of the dissolution of the Assemblée, unilaterally decided by the president after his camp was defeated in the European elections.

Far from restoring his advantage, the dissolution has eroded what little credit Macron had left, without giving a decisive advantage to any of his opponents in the Republican camp or reducing the threat from the RN in any lasting way. Blocked by a more effective than expected "republican front," plagued by the persistence of its racist ideology and by its inconsistencies, the party of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella nonetheless continues to resist in terms of image, particularly when compared to the rejection of LFI party leaders Jean-Luc Mélenchon's statements, provoking outrage. Nearly 70% of French people now consider LFI dangerous for democracy.

As France gets closer to having a new prime minister, a major decision that will have an impact on political as well as economic and social life, the lessons of the survey cannot be overlooked. It is imperative that each camp considers its strategy and positioning. The survey shows that, by dint of playing with fire, the conservatives have lost their ability to retain votes, which are now going to the RN, while the left as a whole is penalized and even hindered by the growing discredit suffered by Mélenchon. As for the man primarily responsible for the current paralysis, Macron, he must profoundly question his style of presidency, and the content of his policies, if he does not want to lead the country into chaos.