Most people in France think the Fifth Republic’s democratic system does not work, said a survey from a government-advisory body, highlighting the country’s lingering malaise following general elections this summer that produced no clear winner.
Fifty-one percent said ‘only strong power’ could guarantee law and order, added the survey, conducted by Ipsos for the CESE and published in Le Parisien newspaper on Wednesday.
The survey from the CESE body – which advises the French government and parliament – also said 23 percent it polled felt ‘democracy was not the best political system’ currently on offer.
President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to dissolve parliament and hold new elections in June and July backfired on Macron, as his centrist camp lost its grip on power.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) won the most votes in the first-round, only to then lose out to the ‘New Popular Front’ broad-based left wing coalition in the decisive second-round, but neither bloc won an outright majority.
In September, Macron named Michel Barnier from the conservative Republicans (LR) camp as new Prime Minister, even though the Republicans won less votes than the far-right and far-left.
Barnier’s recent budget has been attacked by Le Pen’s far-right party, whose tacit support the government needs to survive a potential no-confidence vote.
EU leaders have asked officials to prepare a blueprint for how the bloc's previously obscure mutual assistance clause would work, host Cyprus said at a summit on Friday, amid doubts ov...
Europe's "biggest, most important question" is whether the United States is ready to be a loyal NATO partner in case of a Russian attack, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Fin...
Morning Briefing
€2.8bn rail project to reshape Malta’s transport network
Malta plans to build a 24-kilometre light rail line linking St Paul’s Bay to the airport as part of a wide...
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Parliament approves “living wills” law granting patients right to refuse future treatmentParliament has approved legislation introducing "living wills", giving citizens t...
The European Parliament is moving closer to finalising its position on the EU’s next long-term budget, setting the stage for a key institutional milestone in shaping the 2028–2034 Multia...
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
Porsche has agreed to sell its stakes in sportscar makers Bugatti and Rimac to a consortium led by a U.S. fund co-founded by a scion of Egypt's billionaire Sawiris family, one of the c...
Greece will no longer be the euro zone's most indebted country by the end of this year, with its public debt set to fall below Italy's, according to sources and data from Italy's new b...
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
Malta Public Transport announces that it will be operating two additional evening trips between Mġarr and Nadur in Gozo on Saturday 18 April 2026 to facilitate passenger travel following...
In line with its mission to drive a truly digital Malta, GO plc is making giga-speed internet the entry point for all business customers, with six months completely free for new Business...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill on Monday with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.
The oil prod...
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran carries out more executions per capita than any other country, and more in total than any nation except China, where reliable fig...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
Russian forces have taken 1,700 square km (656 square miles) of territory in Ukraine this year and are advancing on its so-called fortress belt in Donbas, Moscow's top general said whil...
Russia unleashed its deadliest attack so far this year on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities overnight, killing 16 people, including a 12-year-old child, and wounding scores, i...
