, Columnist
Political Gridlock In France Is Risk for Europe
A hung parliament with little appetite for reform will stretch Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance to breaking point.
Now what.
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Jupiter is no longer ascending. French elections have brought a hung parliament, robbing President Emmanuel Macron of his majority, his authority and his credibility as a centrist bulwark against the far-right and the far-left. Fragile coalitions at the heart of the euro area’s No. 2 economy will make governing hard and reforms harder.
And for a European Union seeking to beef up defense, cut energy ties to Russia, and pursue closer integration, the risk now is of a France turning inward with little appetite for big changes.