France with no PM: will a solution be found?

In fact this is not at all about solving the crisis, Le Figaro rails:

“A revocation [of the pension reform] disguised as a suspension would cost around ten billion euros a year, a staggering price to pay for a gift to the Socialists to secure their goodwill. ... It would be madness and has nothing to do with compromise. Rather, it amounts to a capitulation in the hope of averting the spectre of a second dissolution of parliament. Because if the outcome is unfavourable, it could force the head of state to resign. Some conservative LR MPs are also said to be prepared to go along with this scheme - for fear of being swept away by new elections.”

France is heading for a compromise budget that it cannot really afford, The Irish Times notes:

“In reality it is unlikely to be anything more than a sticking plaster solution. ... Unless radical reforms are introduced, France is heading towards a fiscal reckoning. The numbers are stark. The budget deficit is over five per cent of GDP and rising, while the national debt - roughly 3.3 trillion euros - amounts to 114 per cent of GDP. ... A compromise budget may only buy time, while an election is unlikely to lead to a new administration with the power to tackle the budget crisis in an effective way.”

Macron has the option of dissolving parliament again and counting on Le Pen's party discrediting itself, the Irish Independent points out:

“If RN re-emerge as the most powerful single political force in the new assembly, Mr Macron could name Mr Bardella as his prime minister. ... An RN-led government will face virulent opposition, refusal to compromise or find consensus on policy, skittishness about the economy and votes of no confidence. In short, all of the same problems that Mr Macron's last clutch of governments have faced. The president may calculate that RN will make such a mess of governing that no one in their right mind would vote for them in the presidential election.”

Die Presse calls for more sobriety in politics:

“Another lesson from the chaos in France: the Macron brand of politician - a young, hyperactive man with a radical message of reform and personalised policies, a 'scrapper' of parties and systems - is exhausting in the long term. Enthusiastic and dynamic reformers like Matteo Renzi in Italy or Tony Blair in the UK have already demonstrated this. They failed due to the Icarus effect, stumbling over their own hubris. And leaving a lot of damage behind. ... The challenge for Europe's moderate parties is to present modern, convincing alternatives. ... To show that politics can indeed shape things - perhaps simply through good management and with less vanity.”

Le Temps' Paris correspondent Paul Ackermann says voters share some of the responsibility for the political crisis:

“Much has been said here about Emmanuel Macron's responsibility. ... The same goes for the irresponsibility of a political class and opposition parties that neither seek consensus nor see compromise as anything other than a sell-out. ... However, I also find it interesting to look at what share of the blame for this mess lies with the voters - in other words, with the French people themselves. Because ultimately, politicians only deliver the rhetoric they know will be most effective in the next elections. They give people what they want: clear-cut, uncompromising positions - or simply pure anger.”

In a Telegram post picked up by Echo, political scientist Alexei Makarkin explains the debacle, pointing to the incompatibility of the positions of the centrist parties:

“The prime minister failed to reach an agreement with the Socialists and form a government on a broad centrist basis that extended from the left to the right. And that's no coincidence, because a deal with the Socialists would have led to a break with the Republicans. ... The closer the presidential elections get, the more the parties are emphasising their identity with their voters in mind. What the centre-right considers 'madness' is the norm for the centre-left. It's not just Lecornu; no politician would have been able to reconcile the priorities of the Socialists and Republicans.”

El País lists the options now:

“More isolated than ever, Emmanuel Macron faces a difficult dilemma: he can persist with his approach even if it exacerbates instability and thus the divide between the people and the political class. Or he can finally recognise the result of the elections he himself called and acknowledge that the left has the legitimacy to at least attempt to form a government. The third option is to dissolve parliament again, at the risk of strengthening the Rassemblement National, only to find himself in the same deadlock. This option is likely, given that he gave the resigning Lecornu 48 hours to attempt last-minute negotiations and declared that he would take responsibility himself if they failed.”

It's time to face up to reality, Le Figaro demands:

“Rather than continuing the merry-go-round of ministerial posts, making pacts to avoid votes of no confidence or pursuing supposed 'paths' that promise government stability, we must face the facts: we have reached the end of an illusion that has been perpetuated since July 2024 - that of parties that lost the elections but nevertheless assume the right to govern with all the arrogance of overwhelming majorities. But we must not mistake who is to blame. ... This great confusion, this bewildering situation, brings us back to the one person who, by the grace of the Fifth Republic, bears as much power as responsibility: the president of the republic. Only he holds the key: a return to the ballot box.”

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung sees France's economic stability at risk:

“One can't avoid the impression that too many people in Paris are focusing on new elections instead of tackling the serious problems the country faces. These are well known and putting off dealing with them won't make them any easier to solve. The financial markets reminded the politicians of their budgetary problems on Monday. When the second-largest economy in the EU and the Eurozone is rated worse than Greece or Italy, that's a warning signal. ... During the euro crisis Europe learned that if push comes to shove the markets themselves will force reforms. It would be better to avoid this experience in Paris, also in the interests of its partners. ... France is scheduled to hold regular elections in 2027. It's hard to imagine that things can continue like this until then.”

Corriere della Sera describes how the French have grown to dislike their president:

“'I don't understand him anymore', said [former Prime Minister] Gabriel Attal. ... Like Attal, many who believed in Macron no longer understand him: they don't understand why he suddenly dissolved the National Assembly [in June 2024], why he appointed an elderly gentleman like Barnier as prime minister, then another elderly gentleman like Bayrou, and finally the young Lecornu, who, however, had the insurmountable flaw of being the last of Macron's loyalists at a time when everything associated with Macron is unpopular with the public and almost the entire political class.”