France

In recent days, early parliamentary elections have been held in France, but there is no clear winner with a majority. Vít Havelka, Senior Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, describes how the situation in France may develop further.

The French elections were surprisingly won by the left. Its partner in forming a government may be the alliance of President Emmanuel Macron. And on European level Marine Le Pen will join a new political party in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe, which Czech politician Andrej Babiš co-founded. Listen to the comments of Viktor Daňek, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute for CNN Prima News.

The early parliamentary elections in France were surprisingly won by the united left, defeating the far-right party of Marine Le Pen. On the European level, she is now expected to join the newly formed Patriots for Europe party in the European Parliament. Martin Vokálek, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for CNN Prima News.

The nationalist National Association of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella and left-wing parties are seeking victory in the second round. On the other hand, President Emmanuel Macron's party, is hoping for better results than in the first one. Researcher at EUROPEUM Institute Zuzana Krulichová commented for e15.

The far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen wins the first round of the early parliamentary elections in France. The foreign media are talking about the end of the Macron era, but he is not giving up and has called on the French people to vote against the far right. Martin Vokálek, executive director of EUROPEUM Institute, comments for TV Nova on what is driving voters to the far right and what the situation is in France.

In France, final preparations for the July summer Olympic Games are underway, but according to surveys, less than half of the French believe the country can ensure a their smooth course. Confidence in current political leaders has also been undermined by the European elections, where the opposition scored a significant victory. The opposition far-right National Rally led by Marine Le Pen no longer wants to leave the EU; they want to influence it. However, they need allies for that. Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels Office at EUROPEUM Institute, comments on this for Respekt magazine.

Is Emmanuel Macron becoming a watchdog in relation to Russia? Will his statements be backed up by his actions? Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, commented for TV Nova on the evolution of positions towards Ukraine from president Emmanuel Macron.

Our senior researcher Klára Votavová described the tense situation in France, where protests over pension reform have been ongoing for several weeks.

The originally scheduled regular meeting between the governments of France and Germany was eventually postponed. Could this be a signal of some major differences in relations between the countries? What are the causes of the contradictions? Are they more personal or political? What impact could it have if Paris and Berlin fail to agree on their position on China? Our senior research fellow Vít Havelka commented on the situation between the countries in the programme Odpolední Plus for Czech Radio Plus.

Jana Juzová, EUROPEUM Research Fellow, participated in the new episode of Transparency International's Stošestka podcast. From Brussels, she explained how the elections in Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, and France decided the political future of Europe.

Our Associate Research Fellow, Tereza Novotná, was interviewed by Czech Radio about the French presidential election in which Emmanuel Macron was re-elected and France's position in the European Union.

Esteban Gas has written a blog about the French elections that took place during the French presidency. While Macron’s re-election at a glance enables another term of continuation of the existing French agenda in the Union, the tightening of the gap between the far-right and Macron will have to be acknowledged politically in the years to come and might affect the EU.