France in turmoil

Mark Leonard welcomes Celia Belin to unpack France’s spiralling political crisis and what comes next for President Emmanuel Macron

This week Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Paris office, to discuss the unprecedented political turmoil in France. Just weeks after his appointment, Sébastien Lecornu became the fourth prime minister to resign in a year—leaving Macron to choose between naming yet another leader, dissolving the National Assembly, or answering the mounting calls for his resignation.

Why is Macron refusing to turn to the left? Can the centrists hold together? And are snap elections or Macron’s resignation now inevitable?

This podcast was recorded on October 9th, 2025.

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