The head of state, faced with a political crisis in France since his decision to dissolve the National Assembly, had not spoken publicly since the European summit at the end of June and the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. In a letter to the French on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron called on the “republican forces” to unite to form a “solid” government coalition, the vote having not produced a clear majority.
In front of his NATO partners, despite the political crisis shaking France, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitments on Ukraine. Arguing that the French had “made the choice to exclude extremist parties, which could have challenged France’s commitment to Ukraine or within the Alliance,” a French diplomatic source indicated on the third day of the summit.
During a press conference on the night of Thursday to Friday, Emmanuel Macron refused to talk about French politics (“I will not make any comments on domestic politics from Washington,” he justified). And the French president preferred to talk about the war in Ukraine. “Our support (to kyiv) continues to make a difference and must allow Ukraine” to resist Russia, he said. “We will continue” to support Ukraine “as long as necessary,” the French president affirmed.
The political crisis in France on the agenda for discussions
France’s Western partners feared that a victory by the National Rally (RN) would call into question France’s military support for Ukraine, its financial commitments within NATO and its leading role in European construction. Emmanuel Macron assured that he had been able to discuss this with his NATO partners during this summit, guaranteeing them “stability” in French international policy.
The political situation in France was on everyone’s mind in Washington, even though Paris assured that it had not observed any particular “concern” among its partners. “It is now up to the political leaders to find a solution and take advantage of it. I am very confident that they will end up doing so,” declared Olaf Scholz, confident.
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