Le Pen predicts early Macron exit

The French president “is done,” and the country is likely heading for an early election, the right-wing politician has said

French President Emmanuel Macron has “angered everyone” and is likely to leave his post early, right-wing leader Marine Le Pen has predicted, stating she has been already preparing for early elections “out of precaution.”

Speaking with Le Parisien newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday, the long-time leader of the right-wing populist National Rally (RN) party, who currently heads its parliamentary group, said Macron had lost all authority both at home and abroad. 

“He has angered everyone. He has no more influence in the European Union,” Le Pen said.

Macron is likely to leave his post early, Le Pen asserted, stating that she has already been preparing to run for office. She has run for the highest office before, facing off against Macron in 2017 and 2020, when she managed to show better results yet still lost to the incumbent. 

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“Emmanuel Macron is done or almost done,” she said. “I am preparing for an early presidential election, out of precaution, taking into account Emmanuel Macron’s fragility and what little institutional levers he has left.”

Le Pen’s assessment contrasts with the pledges Macron has repeatedly made to remain in office until 2027. He has ruled out any possibility of leaving early despite calls from the opposition for his resignation. 

France ended up in political turmoil after snap elections held in June and July, as the polls saw no party win an outright majority in parliament. After two months of back-and-forth, Macron picked Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old conservative and former Brexit negotiator, to head the government.

Barnier’s tenure ended up being the shortest in France’s modern history after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament in early December, thus plunging the country into an even deeper crisis. Barnier became the first prime minister to lose such a vote since 1962.