Emmanuel Macron‘s era of influence has ended, according to former French President François Hollande, who issued a stark warning on Saturday as France faces a critical snap election.
Hollande, speaking in his home region of Corrèze where he is campaigning to become a Member of Parliament, said: “Macronism is over, if indeed it ever existed. But it’s over, I say it with no special hostility.”
The warning comes after Macron’s dramatic decision to dissolve the National Assembly following a crushing defeat in the European Parliament elections.
This move is seen as a gamble to resolve the ongoing political deadlock that has plagued his second term, characterised by the loss of his parliamentary majority and contentious reforms.
Reflecting on his own presidency, Hollande, who opted out of the 2017 re-election race due to low approval ratings, noted that Macron, his former economy minister, had initially disrupted the political landscape by winning as a centrist.
However, Hollande now believes that Macron’s political momentum has waned. “I don’t mean that his presidential term is coming to an end, that’s something different. But what he may have represented for a time is over.”
Since his re-election in 2022, Macron has struggled with significant political challenges, including the loss of his absolute majority in parliament and intense opposition to his policies, such as raising the pension age and tightening immigration laws.
The forthcoming legislative elections on June 30 and July 7 are expected to favour the far-right Rassemblement National (RN), potentially forcing Macron to govern alongside political opponents.
“The far right has never been so strong,” Hollande warned, highlighting the political and public discontent under Macron’s administration.
In response, Hollande’s Socialist party has joined forces with other left-wing factions, including the Greens, Communists, and the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI), creating the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP). The alliance is currently polling second, behind the RN and ahead of Macron’s Renaissance party.
Hollande underscored the necessity of this political shift, saying, “It’s time for a political realignment.” He explained that the RN’s significant gain of over 31 percent in the European elections prompted his return to politics. Despite some Socialist voters’ discomfort with partnering with LFI and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Hollande remains committed to the coalition. “I’m in the framework of an alliance because it has to be done, but there’s no kind of confusion” between his positions and Mélenchon’s, he clarified.
If elected, Hollande promised to act responsibly and vigilantly as an MP, dedicated to finding solutions amid the changing political landscape. “I’ll be an MP who will call for responsibility whatever happens,” he vowed, emphasising his commitment to addressing the challenges facing France.