French Domestic Policy

Two leaders under pressure to repair relations after rifts over defence, energy and China. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, hosted the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for lunch on Wednesday as they sought to iron out significant differences on energy and defence that have weakened their relationship at a time of war in Ukraine.

President Macron is set to become the first world leader to make a state visit to the US during the Biden presidency, to the delight of Paris. Following the announcement on Tuesday, some commentators claimed that France was being “pampered” by the US, while others drew a contrast with what they described as Britain’s loss of prestige on the global stage following Brexit. 

France’s presidency of the EU ends on June 30 with Emmanuel Macron’s new big idea, a “European Political Community”, hanging in the balance. This community would encompass EU membership candidates like Ukraine and possibly ex-member Britain. For some observers, the French president’s idea offers a way to bring countries into the European project while the long accession process takes its course. Others argue that Macron’s plan offers few clear objectives.

French President Emmanuel Macron will have to rule with only a relative majority in Parliament – an anomaly in recent French history, but a common practice in Europe.

This week the guest of "Dialogue Weekend" on CGTV is Thierry de Montbrial, founder and executive chairman of Ifri, French Institute for International Relations. Last Sunday, Emmanuel Macron became the first French president to be re-elected since Jacques Chirac 20 years ago, with a 17-point victory over far-right populist Marine Le Pen.

As elections approach Sunday, the far-right candidate is linked to the Russian president by a web of financial ties and a history of support that has hardly dimmed despite the war in Ukraine.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), makes 5 key recommendations for the future of French energy & climate policies to foster energy security and achieve climate objectives:

This week, Ifri, in partnership with CATS Network, is launching a series of five videos on the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, seen through the prism of the geopolitical rivalry between France and Turkey. 

This week, Ifri, in partnership with CATS Network, is launching a series of five videos on the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, seen through the prism of the geopolitical rivalry between France and Turkey. 

The French president, whose leadership will be challenged in April, may seek reforms as he guides the EU. With months to go until its presidential election, France took on the rotating presidency of the European Council on January 1.

The first meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz occurred on Friday, December 10, 2021, in Paris. An important visit for both Germany and France and an opportunity to relaunch the Franco-German couple since Angela Merkel’s departure from the German chancellery.

For years, French President Emmanuel Macron butted heads, bit his tongue in frustration, and lashed out at former President Donald Trump, who refused to yield an inch to his entreaties about global cooperation. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on climate change—cherished projects for Macron—and trashed the NATO military alliance as “obsolete.”

German Chancellor Merkel has met with French President Macron in what could be her final working visit to France. Some analysts say their cooperation should have produced more results.

Macron set to become the uncontested leader of Europe with German chancellor’s exit. Chancellor Angela Merkel was not naturally inclined to focus on Franco-German relations. “She comes from the former East Germany, and her experience was of east bloc countries, especially Russia, ” says Sabine Rau, Paris bureau chief for the German public television network WRD.

French president’s ‘trust-building’ with Russian leader has failed