1. French politics is gripped by the threat of the far right, a threat that is spreading throughout Europe in the form of fears of a widespread rise in neo-fascism. This anxiety is in keeping with the logic of times in which the right seems to accept the drift towards post-democratic authoritarianism, and neo-fascists capitalize on it with the classic game of copycats. For some time now, the names of Marine Le Pen—given her pending criminal case—and Jordan Bardella have been mentioned as potential presidential candidates. However, this weekend's municipal and regional elections, while not decisive, have highlighted the gap between rhetoric and reality, giving France signs that might suggest the reactionary movement is not as potent as it seems, provided the right doesn't lend it a hand.

Fifteen years after the Fukushima accident, Europe is once again betting on nuclear energyUntil now, only a few member states—especially France, the European Union's leading nuclear power—had advocated for increased nuclear energy production and investment in the sector. Brussels had remained largely neutral, although in 2022 it yielded to French pressure to include nuclear power as a non-polluting energy source, classifying it almost as green energy. Now, however, the European Commission has fully aligned itself with France and believes that nuclear power must be expanded. "Europe made a strategic error by turning its back on a reliable, economical, and low-emission energy source," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her address at the nuclear energy summit held this Tuesday in Paris. The head of the EU executive and French President Emmanuel Macron have demonstrated their unwavering support for nuclear energy. Macron has called for more investment in the sector, especially now that the international geopolitical context is complex and dependence on hydrocarbons "can be an instrument of pressure and destabilization." The wars in Ukraine and Iran have made the vulnerability and energy dependence of many countries more evident, exposing them to escalating oil and gas prices. Nuclear energy accounts for 10% of the world's electricity production, with some 450 reactors spread across about thirty countries; France alone has 56.

Faced with a turbulent geopolitical landscape, France is embarking on a nuclear rearmament program. President Emmanuel Macron has announced that the country will increase its nuclear commanders—Macron clarified that the number will not be made public—and will acquire a new, state-of-the-art nuclear submarine. The announcement is not directly linked to the new war in the Middle East: the French president has been preparing France's rearmament for months. the desire to protect themselves from countries like Russia in a new global environment full of "risks and threats," where the United States is no longer a reliable partner."An increase in our arsenal is indispensable," the President of the Republic declared on Monday in a speech from Île Longue (Finistère), the secret military base where France has its four submarines capable of launching nuclear weapons. For the President, the key is deterrence: "The essential thing is that no adversary can even consider the possibility of an attack against France without the certainty of suffering damage from which it could not recover." However, Macron warned that he would use his nuclear arsenal if the country is attacked. "I will never hesitate to take the necessary decisions to protect our vital interests. No state, however powerful, could escape. No country could recover," the President of the Republic stated. Today's speech was one of the harshest and most bellicose that Macron has ever delivered. He did it in the middle of the nuclear military base, with a large, real submarine as a backdrop. "Just one of our submarines, like the one behind me, carries an attack power equivalent to the sum of all the bombs that fell on Europe during World War II," he boasted. It was one of the French nuclear submarines, which have a power equivalent to about a thousand times the power of the first nuclear bombs.

Three months later of his appointment as French Prime MinisterSébastien Lecornu has achieved what the two previous prime ministers failed to do: pass the budget and provide a degree of political stability in France. His arrival as prime minister It was very controversialBut he has been able—against all odds—to provide the country with a budget essential for its economic stability and to avoid a vote of no confidence. The two motions rejected Monday night by the National Assembly were the final obstacle for the budget. "We can turn the page," summarized a Macronist deputy.

Social media has been flooded with memes, with remix musicals and parody videos. They've even made T-shirts. The French president's speech in English, Emmanuel Macron at the World Economic Forum in Davos It caused a sensation, but not because of his criticism of Donald Trump or his defense of Europe's strategic autonomy, but because of his repeated use of the expression "for sure" (in Catalan, definitely), pronounced in an exaggerated, emphatic way. "With an accent, it must be said, that is somewhat ridiculous," the newspaper maintains. Le Monde.

"No one watching this Davos speech can come to any other conclusion than that the President of the United States is suffering from a mental disorder. It is both shameful and extremely dangerous." This tweet from American international policy expert Tom Nichols sums up the feeling Donald Trump's audience must have had in Davos when they heard a speech full of inconsistencies, falsehoods, and constant confusion. Trump confused Greenland with Iceland and then referred to the Danish island as "a piece of ice," before questioning the commitment of NATO allies and lamenting the stock market decline. Admittedly, the headline that sticks is that he claims he will not use force in Greenland. But what credibility does someone who is a compulsive liar and has no respect for international norms have?

Reality definitely surpasses fiction, especially in these times. And for a fashion analyst like myself, French President Emmanuel Macron appearing at the Davos economic forum wearing sunglasses like the ones he sported this Tuesday is almost a fantasy come true. However, accustomed as I am to scratching the surface to understand the underlying meanings in identity constructions, this case is so blatantly obvious that it makes it almost a childish exercise in analysis.

French President Emmanuel Macron is not satisfied with Donald Trump's decision to exclude the European Union from peace negotiations in Ukraine. Macron invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Élysée Palace on Monday to discuss the US peace proposal. The meeting took place the day before a meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The prevailing narrative is that this will be a key week for the future of the war.

With winter fast approaching, hopes for a short-term peace shattered, and the Russian army advancing on the Donbas front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking military, political, and economic support from his European allies with a mini-tour of Europe that has taken him first to Greece and then to France, where he served as President of the Republic. The Ukrainian head of state will also visit Spain this Tuesday.

When Emmanuel Macron won the presidential election in 2017, the fake newsbegan to circulate in France: his partner, Brigitte Macron, was a transgender woman. Other first ladies or candidates, such as Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Begoña Gómez herself, have also been victims of the same sexist and transphobic rumor. Nothing new. Neither the Élysée Palace nor the media echoed it. But in 2021, everything changed.

France has always regarded Italy with a certain arrogance and air of superiority. Last century, President Charles de Gaulle once said condescendingly, "Oh, the Italians..." This is recalled by the editorialist of the centrist Roman daily. The Messenger Mario Ajello in an article dedicated to the turbulent political and economic situation in France. "Now we should shout, in French: Viva Italia!" Ajello concludes.

The French Parliament is divided into three similarly sized blocs. The left: the New Popular Front, 180 seats. The right: the National Regrouping, 142; the Republicans, 39; other right-wing parties, 27; total, 208. The center: the Ensemble, 159; others, 30; total, 189. This had never happened in the Fifth Republic, which was built on a two-party political structure. And Macron should be president of the entire state, not the leader of a political movement. This is his mistake, and he doesn't know how to escape it.

It seems inevitable that French presidents will eventually become Napoleons. Perhaps with the exception of Jacques Chirac, who was truly happy at the Salon de l'Agriculture, at some point they are swallowed up by the grandeur and isolation. This is the case today with Emmanuel Macron, who views political chaos as if it were nothing to him and chooses prime ministers without first working on coalitions or policies that the National Assembly should support. Macron is convinced of his presidential infallibility and expresses it without blushing: "The political parties are solely responsible for the disorder" and "They are not up to the moment." He distances himself from the situation and postpones calling presidential elections, but things would have to change a lot to ultimately avoid the rise of the far right.

The second government led by Sébastien Lecornu, appointed this Sunday, has already lasted more hours than the first one – which was only in force for 14 hours –, but it could go down in history as the second shortest of the Fifth Republic if either of the two motions of no confidence presented this Monday by the National Rally (RN), the far-right party of Marine Le Pen, and by La France Insoumise (LFI), the party considered to be radical left-wing and led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, succeed. Both motions will be voted on this week, probably on Thursday, and it is not unlikely that one of the two will be approved.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu appointed his new government on Sunday night, just a week after announcing his first government, made up of almost the same ministers as the previous government, which was overthrown by the National Assembly. It was a monumental mistake that unleashed a chaotic week. That government was widely criticized by all opposition parties, who threatened to censure him and forced Lecornu to resign. A week later, the prime minister, reappointed by President Macron on Friday, presented an executive with new faces and a low political profile. Both Marine Le Pen's National Rally and La France Insoumise, however, have already threatened to censure him again this Monday.

President Emmanuel Macron surprised everyone on Friday evening by reappointing Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister. Four days earlier, Lecornu had resigned in the face of the threat of a vote of no confidence and an attempt to leave the executive of one of the governing partners, the Les Republicans (LR). He had appointed his government just 14 hours earlier. The president's reappointment of him to head the government has not been well received by the opposition parties: the day after his appointment, his position was already in jeopardy.

After five days of chaos in French politics, the President of the Republic finally appointed a prime minister this Friday, hoping to end the umpteenth crisis. However, Emmanuel Macron didn't look far. In a new surrealist twist, he once again chose Sébastien Lecornu, who just four days ago announced his resignation and two days later declared that he would not return as head of government. "My mission is over," he had declared. With Lecornu's appointment, figure from the right and very close to the president, The possibility of a left-wing government is definitively closed.

France will have to wait at least until Friday to find out whether it will have a new government or whether the President of the Republic will call early legislative elections. This Wednesday evening, the deadline for resigned Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to reach an agreement with the parties to form a government and approve the 2026 budget was due, but it was not possible to close the deal within such a tight timeframe. The acting Prime Minister told President Macron that negotiations are on track and that an agreement and a new Prime Minister could be reached "within 48 hours." The Élysée Palace subsequently confirmed in a statement that the President will appoint the Prime Minister by Friday at the latest.

President Emmanuel Macron finds himself at the most critical moment since he took up residence in the Élysée Palace. After seeing five prime ministers come and go in just two years, the situation is becoming unsustainable. He hasn't spoken publicly for days—his explanations for the entire chaos on Monday, when Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned, were given in a short press release—but his entourage has leaked to the press that if the parties don't agree to form a government that won't be immediately censured, he "will assume his responsibilities." In other words, he will call early legislative elections.

1. Life is hard and often passes over those who boast the most. The end of the macronia He arrives with an unprecedented failure in history: a government that lasted just one day. The new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, in office since September 10, needed a month to form the executive and announced his resignation just when it was time to present it. Most of the new ministers were already ministers under François Bayrou. What could be expected again? Unable to reach an agreement with the center-left, the right, more divided than ever and increasingly cornered by the far right, lives in the dead end of neighborhood rivalries.