Emmanuel Macron issues mea culpa over French legislative elections

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French President Emmanuel Macron said he was responsible for the political division caused by his decision to hold snap parliamentary elections in the summer, saying the move had created “more instability than peace”.

“I have to recognize tonight that abolition, for the moment, has brought more division to the Assembly than solutions for the French people,” he said in an annual New Year’s address. “I fully accept that.”

The speech, Macron’s eighth as president, capped a year in which his political influence was significantly weakened by the dissolution in June, which split France’s parliament into three blocs, the right-wing Rallye National and the left.

After a disappointing performance for its centrist candidates in the European elections in early June, Macron The country needs a “moment of clarity” to deal with the rise of the RN in European elections, surprising France by dissolving parliament.

But subsequent elections marked a decisive rejection of his centrist, pro-business agenda and made the RN France’s largest party in a fractured parliament.

Macron appointed conservative politician and former Brexit negotiator Michel Bernier as prime minister in September. However, he was ousted in a no-confidence motion last month after failing to garner support from left and right for a budget designed to cut France’s deficit, which is set to balloon to more than 6 percent in 2024.

Macron appointed his ally François Bayrou as prime minister. Calling on politicians to compromise in 2025, he suggested he could ask French voters to cast ballots again next year.

“I will ask you to decide on some key issues, because each of you has a role to play,” he said in comments that prompted several commentators to suggest a possible referendum in 2025.

Macron also outlined the foreign policy challenges for France next year.

Following the re-election of US president Donald Trump, who has urged NATO allies to increase defense spending, Macron said “Europe can no longer entrust its security and defense to other powers,” repeating his call for more European defense spending.

He called on Europe to “simplify its rules” to encourage more investment from businesses.

But the address is unlikely to change perceptions of Macron among voters. His popularity has fallen to a record low this year, with just 21 percent of people trusting his ability to deal with France’s problems, according to a December Ellab poll.

His far-right rival Marine Le Pen said in her own New Year’s message on Tuesday that “a belated repentance or reckless plea from a particularly disgraced head of state will change nothing”.

While she did not explicitly call for Macron to seek early presidential elections ahead of the next vote scheduled for 2027, Le Pen said 2025 would be a “decisive year”, adding that France could only solve its problems through a “democratic decision”.