Category Archives: Emmanuel Macron

Macron woos top foreign business chiefs after political chaos

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French president seeks to reassure guests, including Elon Musk, as data show industry morale slumped in July

Barely six weeks after he dissolved parliament and plunged France into political chaos, Emmanuel Macron has sought to reassure 40 of the world’s most influential businessmen that his country remains a good investment.

Guests at a sit-down lunch at the Élysée palace on Thursday included Tesla’s Elon Musk, Coca-Cola’s James Quincey, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, YouTube’s Neal Mohan and Eli Lilly’s David Ricks.

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Centrist government to remain in power until after Paris Olympics, says Macron

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France’s president says delay is to avoid disorder, after leftist coalition announces Lucie Castet as its pick to become PM

Emmanuel Macron has said he will maintain the country’s centrist caretaker government until the end of the Olympic Games in mid-August to avoid disorder, dismissing an effort by a leftwing alliance to name a prime minister.

His announcement in a TV interview came shortly after the leftist coalition that won the most votes in this month’s parliamentary elections selected the little-known civil servant Lucie Castets as its choice for prime minister.

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Macron ally wins surprise re-election as national assembly speaker

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Vote for centrist MP Yaël Braun-Pivet marks first step out of governing limbo since snap elections left country divided

French lawmakers have re-elected a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc as president of parliament’s lower house, a possible breakthrough in attempts to form a majority amid deadlock.

French politics have been in gridlock after a snap election this month left the country without any clear path to forming a new government as Paris prepares to host the Olympic Games.

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Keir Starmer says he is open to processing asylum seekers offshore

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PM wants to rethink UK’s immigration policies but did not make progress on returns deal at summit with EU leaders

Keir Starmer is looking into plans to process asylum seekers outside the UK as part of a rethink of the government’s immigration policies, even as a returns agreement with the EU appears more distant than ever.

The prime minister said on Thursday he was open to the idea of Britain processing claims offshore, after a day spent discussing illegal migration with fellow European leaders at Blenheim Palace. Those talks, as part of the European Political Community summit, included a meeting with Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, whose country processes asylum claims on behalf of Italy.

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Keir Starmer speaks after European Political Community summit – as it happened

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Prime minister says summit has been ‘successful and productive’ as world leaders discuss Ukraine and European security

Some more of the arrivals pictured at Blenheim Palace for a summit for the European Political Community (EPC) today, courtesy of the newswires:

Here are some of the discussions that have taken place at previous EPC summits, according to the gov.uk website:

At the last meeting in Granada, the UK led discussions on AI and illegal migration. In Moldova, the focus was on supporting the host country in the face of Russian hybrid threats, as well building energy resilience. While at the first EPC meeting in Prague, talks centred around Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the need for Europe to stand united against his aggression.

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France: failure to agree on new PM puts leftwing coalition in ‘stalemate’

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A week after election, unity in NFP has fractured with LFI suspending talks with other alliance members

The leftwing coalition that won most seats in France’s snap general election is facing division after its leading party said it was suspending negotiations with the others over a failure to agree on a prime minister.

Just one week after the election, the fragile unity within the New Popular Front (NFP) fractured on Monday when France Unbowed (LFI) accused the Socialist party (PS) of “unacceptable methods” in vetoing suggestions over who should lead any new administration.

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France contemplates chaos after the general election with no clear winner and the Olympics just weeks away

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The new national assembly meets this week, but what will happen if the three almost equal political blocs cannot agree on a prime minister?

One week after a snap general election that nobody won, and two weeks before it welcomes the world for the Olympic Games, France is still without a new prime minister or government and in political chaos.

As the French celebrate Bastille Day, the national 14 July holiday, the squabbling and stalemate between the three groupings that took the most seats but failed to secure a parliamentary majority continued with warnings that it could be two months before a solution is found.

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Zelenskiy expected in UK for meeting with European leaders

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Exclusive: Talks at Blenheim Palace will centre on Ukraine, security and democracy

Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to travel to the UK next week to address European leaders at Blenheim Palace who are meeting to discuss Ukraine, European security and democracy.

He will also make his first visit to Ireland on Saturday morning when he touches down in Shannon airport, Co Clare, for a meeting with the Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris.

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France’s aversion to coalitions means any new government risks early collapse

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Snap election brings three roughly equal blocs and unwillingness to compromise or form ‘unnatural alliances’

Sweden has been run by coalitions since the 1970s, Germany has not known single-party government since 1961 and in Italy, multiparty rule has been the norm since the early 1940s. The Netherlands was last run by just one party in 1879.

In France, however, political leaders from left and right have lined up to rule out a coalition government after Sunday’s snap election produced a parliament of three roughly equal blocs – none with a majority, and all with wildly differing platforms.

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France election 2024 live: political deadlock looms after leftwing alliance wins most seats

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Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally fails to take power while no party wins absolute majority; PM Gabriel Attal offers resignation

“Deadlock” is the most likely outcome of the elections, with no “quick solution” likely in the coming days, according to economist and international law professor Armin Steinbach of HEC Paris business school. He says:

France has no political culture of making coalitions and compromises, like Germany or Italy. That is why it feels like a crisis for the French.

Much depends on whether the NFP will stay united and not break up into old conflicts.

This would be very unpopular and may trigger protests because he [Macron] clearly lost the election.

With his self-confidence he will probably stay on as president until 2027. In other countries, the head of state would resign after such a defeat. With this defeat, he lacks the legitimacy to appoint a new government.

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Monday briefing: French opposition to the far right comes out on top

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In today’s newsletter: A shock defeat for the far right National Rally in France, while in the UK the new Labour government gets down to work

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Good morning.

The far right were riding high from the first round of voting in the French elections last week, after coming out on top with an unprecedented 12m votes. They were hoping to replicate that historic victory last night but their plans were scuppered after exit polls indicated that an unexpected left wing surge blocked the National Rally (RN) and its allies from their anticipated success.

Environment | The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5C greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows. Temperatures between July 2023 and June 2024 were the highest on record, scientists found, creating a year-long stretch in which the Earth was 1.64C hotter than in preindustrial times.

Politics | Rachel Reeves has pledged to “fix the foundations” of the British economy, revealing an immediate plan to boost growth by unblocking infrastructure and private investment in her first speech as chancellor. In an address to business leaders, she will say that economic growth for all parts of the country is “a national mission”.

Conservatives | A number of opposition MPs have suggested that the former home secretary Suella Braverman is losing support as a potential party leader, as some who lost votes across southern England privately urged colleagues to resist a lurch to the right.

US | Joe Biden has insisted he is the person to reunite America in a second term in the White House, even as the number of high-profile Democrats calling him to stand aside has grown. Congressmen Jerry Nadler of New York and Jamie Raskin of Maryland were reportedly among a clutch of lawmakers who have joined calls for Biden to leave the race.

Israel-Gaza | In the initial chaos of the Hamas attack on 7 October, Israel’s armed forces employed what is known as the Hannibal protocol, a directive to use force to prevent the kidnapping of soldiers even at the expense of hostages’ lives, according to a report in Haaretz.

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Leftwing coalition wins most parliamentary seats in France – as it happened

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This blog has now closed but you can read our full report on the French election results here

Hello from Paris.

I spent time this afternoon outside a polling station in the city’s 16th district.

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France on course for highest turnout in decades at pivotal election

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Far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen poised to become dominant force in country’s national assembly

Voter turnout in one of France’s most momentous elections in living memory appears to be heading for a historic high, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies poised to become the dominant force in the national assembly.

After a rest day with no political activity allowed, voting began across mainland France at 8am local time (7am BST) on Sunday, with pollsters due to publish usually reliable seat projections as the last big-city polling stations close at 8pm.

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Police, poverty and populism: how Perpignan became a laboratory for the far right

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French city’s election of a National Rally mayor has been a study in the party’s attempts to normalise itself in local politics

As Patrice Burel scooped coffee at his roastery in Perpignan, he lamented the steady closure of other shops on this narrow city centre street. “They gradually disappeared like sugar dissolving in a cup of tea,” he said, blaming crime, traffic jams and competition from out-of-town shopping centres. “I long argued for the pedestrianisation of this street.”

Then in 2020 came political change. Perpignan, with a population of 121,000 and close to the Spanish border, became the biggest city to be run by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) in 20 years. The historic city at the foot of the Pyrenees, which for decades has had some of the starkest inequality in France, is now a municipal laboratory for the far right. The new mayor, Louis Aliot, a lawyer who was formerly Le Pen’s romantic partner and is a party vice-president, picked up the pedestrianisation plan for Burel’s street, which began in 2022.

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Performance of French far right, who ‘see Europe as the problem’, fears German foreign minister – as it happened

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Marine Le Pen’s victory has been applauded by other far-right leaders in Europe. Santiago Abascal, who heads the far-right Vox party across the border in Spain, called it a “victory of hope, freedom and security for the French people”, while André Ventura, leader of Portugal’s Chega party, hailed “a great victory”, adding: “Europe is waking up! Soon, it will be Portugal!”

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party, accused Macron of undemocratic behaviour after the French president called for a united front to head off Le Pen’s National Rally in the second round.

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Far-right National Rally in reach of being dominant French party after election first round

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RN has won about 34% of national vote, exit polls suggest, as Marine Le Pen targets absolute majority

Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration party is in reach of becoming the biggest political force in the French parliament after a historically high showing in the first round of snap parliament elections.

The left and centrists immediately began to call for tactical voting to try to stop the far-right before next Sunday’s final round runoff, after exit polls indicated the National Rally (RN) had won about 34% of the national vote share with the leftwing alliance in second place and Emmanuel Macron’s grouping trailing in a distant third.

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French election: thousands protest far-right results in Paris – as it happened

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This blog has now closed but you can read our main stories here:

The far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen will soon address supporters after first estimates put her party in the lead.

With polls now closed, first estimates have been published.

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Voter turnout in France’s parliamentary election at near-40-year high

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Ballot could enable Marine Le Pen’s National Rally to form government as polls suggest support for party has grown

Voter turnout across France has surged to a near four-decade high as voters cast their ballots in the first round of high stakes, snap parliamentary elections that could lead to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen forming a government in a historic first.

While polls suggest support for Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally (RN) has strengthened in recent days, the outcome of the two-round election, called three weeks ago by the president, Emmanuel Macron, following the crushing defeat of his allies in the European parliamentary elections, remains highly uncertain.

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Macron told ‘people detest you’ as far-right bids to be biggest party in France

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Centrists are fighting for their survival in Sunday’s poll, amid fears the president’s snap election has unleashed chaos

Emmanuel Macron’s centrist grouping was fighting for survival this weekend before the first round of France’s high-stakes snap election, which could see the far-right National Rally (RN) become the biggest force in parliament.

Macron, who warned last week that France risked “civil war” if Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration RN, or the leftwing New Popular Front coalition, came to power, said at the European summit in Brussels that “uninhibited racism and antisemitism” had been unleashed in France.

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Far-right National Rally strengthening in final polls ahead of vote

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Marine Le Pen’s party has pledged to boost spending power, slash immigration and restore law and order

The far-right National Rally (RN) has strengthened in final polls, including one suggesting it could be on course for a historic parliamentary majority, as candidates fought for votes on the last day of campaigning before the first-round ballot in France’s most momentous election for decades.

Two days before Sunday’s ballot, two polls on Friday showed Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration, France-first party pulling steadily further ahead in a race it has led since President Emmanuel Macron called the shock ballot almost three weeks ago after the defeat of his centrists in the European parliamentary election.

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