2024: Election fragmentation & governing coalitions

After the June 2024 European Parliament elections, President Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called a snap legislative election. The resulting chamber was divided among major blocs, leaving no straightforward governing majority. National Rally, the left-wing New Popular Front and the presidential camp represented sharply different positions on taxation, immigration and public services.

Macron appointed Michel Barnier prime minister in September. His government fell in December following a no-confidence vote connected to budget procedure. Parliamentary voting records establish which parties took those decisions; they do not show that party leaders ordered street violence.

The fragmentation mattered economically because budgets, borrowing and public-service commitments required negotiations among adversaries. It also amplified uncertainty about which institutions could deliver durable policy decisions.