Centre fold How Macron fell from favour with French voters

Three French governments have collapsed in less than a year, and the political crisis looks likely to continue, overshadowing Emmanuel Macron's last 18 months in power.

- By Angelique Chrisafis PARIS

Last week, the latest minority government narrowly survived its first vote of no-confidence. But it remains the weakest cabinet in decades and could be toppled at any moment if opposition parties join together to oust it. France now faces a brutal two-month battle in parliament to achieve what once seemed the most basic element of governance: passing a budget.

Political analysts argue that the figure most damaged by the crisis is the centrist president. The pro-Europe, pro-business Macron was first elected in 2017, vowing to revolutionise politics and listen to voters. He promised a cherrypicking of ideas from both left and right to liberalise the economy, create jobs and end inequality. Crucially, he said he wanted to stop the rise of the far right by ensuring citizens had no more reason to vote for extremes.

There were major crises: the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) anti-government revolt, followed by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. And when he was reelected in 2022, Macron no longer had an absolute majority in parliament.