Can Louis XX save Macron’s France?
From the stability of the Fifth Republic’s institutions, France is regressing to the chronic instability of bygone republics. In eight…
A dual crisis is looming for France
Financial crises are often linked to a political crisis. On 8 September, the French government will submit itself to a…
How Macron triumphed over Starmer
‘Small boats’ are the big talking point from this week’s Franco-British summit. The consensus is that there are slim pickings…
Britain could pay a big price for Starmer’s ‘EU Reset’
The great ‘EU Reset’ of 19 May – when the first formal UK-EU summit since Brexit will take place –…
Does Britain really need to share ‘geopolitical values’ with Europe?
Sir Keir Starmer will sign a new strategic partnership with Brussels at a summit on 19 May. The draft preamble…
Defence cooperation with France would be a bad idea for Britain
Donald Trump’s recent decision to deny Ukraine access to American intelligence data in the war against Russia has concentrated minds…
How Macron beat Starmer to Trump
Emmanuel Macron’s lightning visit to the White House was a tour de force of French diplomatic energy, skill and bravado. Whether Macron…
Starmer must protect Britain’s defence industry
When David Frost led UK negotiations with the EU on a free trade agreement five years ago, he was supported…
How Jean-Marie Le Pen lives on
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died aged 96 on 7 January, was the personification of the travails and excesses of post-war…
The irony of Starmer’s Armistice Day visit to France
Yesterday morning, the British Prime Minister travelled to Paris at the invitation of the French President to lay a wreath…
Germany and the politics of blame for the first world war
Wars begin and end in controversy. The war that ended 106 years ago today with the armistice of 11 November…
What the First World War can teach us about the Third
It is our duty on Remembrance Sunday to honour the fallen. But to do justice to their sacrifice, we should…
Why France’s media is keeping quiet about Michel Barnier’s health
France’s 73-year-old prime minister, Michel Barnier, underwent surgery last weekend for a lesion on his upper neck. According to the…
Does France need a government?
France has been without an official government for seven weeks, the longest in the history of the Fifth Republic. A…
Macron’s lavish spending is jeopardising French finances
In the last years of Louis XVI’s reign, French finances were in a parlous state. State debt had ballooned, its…
Even the Olympics can’t unite France
Writing of the state of France in the twilight of the fateful Second Empire, the left-wing journalist Henri Rochefort observed:…
Macron’s scheming could have disastrous consequences for France
French voters are looking on aghast at the state of their country’s democracy. Faced with stalemate in the French National…
Is France heading towards its Sixth Republic?
Against a backdrop of considerable tension – barricaded city centre shop-fronts and 30,000 police on standby – a radically divided…
Labour should be wary of Macron’s cooing
French president Emmanuel Macron has phoned Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his appointment as prime minister. Macron’s Twitter…
What the National Rally means for France’s foreign policy
The electoral turmoil in France threatens its status as a world power. Friendly nations are despairing; rivals and enemies are…
The plot to stop Marine Le Pen’s National Rally
This week France has drifted from surprise to confusion and panic as Sunday’s second round vote approaches. The bien-pensant centre-left weekly Nouvel Obs’…
National Rally brings a political earthquake to France
There is one big winner from the first round of the French legislative elections – and several big losers. The…
Macron’s power in Europe is draining
In Brussels over the last two days EU heads of state and government have been carving up the ‘top jobs’.…
Macron’s ‘civil war’ warning might be closer to reality than he realises
Of the 20 or so opinion polls since France’s president Emmanuel Macron announced a snap election this month, the vast…
Is France’s left-wing coalition more dangerous than Le Pen?
French and international media cannot break their fixation with the ‘extreme right’. They continue to target the Rassemblement National (RN)…
