Emmanuel Macrons’ cunning and surreal plan to springboard the French far-right into a modicum of power in a snap election just to prove they were inept has spectacularly backfired. The electorate took fright after the first round when Marie Le Pen’s RN party surged to prominence – as they did in 2002 when her father Jean-Marie Le Pen had a successful first round and faced Jaques Chirac in the run off, only to be overwhelmingly defeated. This time a cobbled together coalition of far-left, centre-left and Green alliance won, with Macron’s Party second.
Not that Le Pen’s National Rally is facing a wipe out since it is likely to be the largest single party in French parliament; and although disappointed Le Pen thinks they have a solid foundation for a 2027 victory.
In the near future, parliamentary paralysis is likely along with Macron’s ability to govern effectively; with firebrand leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon calling on the president to resign. The New Popular Front coalition which won, is calling for controls on food prices, a reinstatement of the right to retire at 60, and wants to raise the minimum wage and increase business taxes. This would cost the country billions of euros – and risk tipping the French economy into a bigger crisis than ever as well as putting France on a collision course with Brussels over tax and spending.
France is already struggling to cut its addiction to borrowing; with a budget deficit widening to 5.5pc of GDP last year. The EU has a goal of annual borrowing reduced to 3pc of GDP by 2027.
France (see 10th June post) is undergoing a volcanic upheaval at the moment with tr Uranus exactly opposition the Mars in Scorpio now (repeating into early 2025) at the same time as the Solar Arc Sun is squaring the revolutionary, disruptive Uranus opposition Pluto in coming months into 2025. The Solar Arc Sun won’t be finished its explosive move round France’s Uranus, Pluto, Mars T square until late 2028 – which if Macron’s presidency holds till 2027 will make the next election exceedingly bad tempered. And if the start time of 3.30pm is accurate tr Uranus will be opposition the Sagittarius Moon as well in 2027 which will make for an electorate even more unsettled and truculent than usual. By 2029 calm may prevail.
Marine Le Pen and her sidekick Bardella always did look both pleased and frustrated by this mixed result. High hopes one moment, defeat the next, but still it is progress for them. By 2027 she is on her Second Saturn Return with her yod focal planet Saturn under a heavy burden of responsibility and probably, despite a confident push, not quite getting her across the finish line first.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, 19 August 1951 8.20am Tangier, Morocco, is having a discouraging and uphill struggle through the rest of this year with tr Pluto opposition his Mars and trine his Saturn/ But tr Jupiter moving across his Midheaven and 10th from May 2025 along with Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Midheaven will keep him buoyant in 2026/27. Tr Uranus is exactly square his Leo Sun at the moment for this extraordinary twist of fate which has thrust him to unexpected political heights.
It was never going to be a good run for Macron with tr Saturn moving below the 28 degree Capricorn Ascendant on his personal chart since early 2020. Indeed the surprise is that he won in 2022. Saturn through the First Quadrant for ambitious, ego-centred types is always replete with banana skins and bad judgement calls.
Will he resign? His Second Term chart from May 2022 has tr Uranus conjunct the Taurus Sun and square Saturn in a tense, disruptive run until April 2025. And his initial Presidency chart from 14 May 2017 has the topple-off-perch SA Pluto square Uranus exactly now, which may well have propelled him into impulsive action. It does not mean he will definitely go but it is the most unstable moment of his reign.
There do look to be ructions between France and the EU with tr Uranus square the composite Saturn now into 2025 as well as tr Uranus opposition the Pluto and then Mars this year until 2026 – so a fight back against Brussels’ centralised power and regulations looks likely.
Add On: Useful piece by French journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet. “Macron reigns over a field of political rubble.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/07/08/macron-reigns-over-a-field-of-political-rubble
Also: Mélenchon, a divisive figure, has been nicknamed France’s Jeremy Corbyn. Suggestions of anti-Semitism have surrounded him as well as pro-Hamas comments. He has offered tepid support for Ukraine and previously appeared supportive not only of Vladimir Putin, but also of autocratic leaders in South America. Both Hugo Chavez, the late Venezuelan president, and China’s Chairman Mao have won his admiration.
Of course Marjorie is absolutely correct the far left and far right are equally evil and totalitarian, they meet in the middle. Macron has rather like in the time of Germany in 1933 opened the gates to utter chaos, then they used Hitler to block the Communists and we know where that led. He has now, I believe very unwisely, given the extreme la France insoumise a platform and they could sink the French economy, in order to stop the far right. It is extremely serious. Marjorie do you see astrologically La France insoumise taking over. You evidently feel Le pen will fail in 2027 ?
Macron called this election against the advice of his Prime Minister Gabriel Attal who apparently was not consulted. Now he asked Attal to stay on in the role to sort out the mess which he as President has created. If anyone is responsible for the current situation it is Macron who has behaved like a modern day King Lear. No surprise when you see that transiting Neptune is squaring his Sun Mercury in Sagittarius exactly right now.
Is Macron a ‘did nothing’ president? Does he have any achievements, especially lasting ones? Are his years of rule lost years or was there something good?
France Natal Chart: No surprise in France then, as it is being challenged by an eruption as transiting Pluto squaring it Sun/Moon midpoint in Scorpio which is conjunct Jupiter . Therefore, Politics and Law and Order is being challenged. The Moon is also being in the 10th house with its rulership Saturn in the 3rd everyday communication. The uprising against authority. Especially as it Natal Pluto in the 1st house in exact opposition to Uranus in 7th – quite a volatile chart at the best of times, yet Pluto is doing what it knows best and is packing a punch!
The UK and French elections, although very different beasts, feel like Pluto in Aquarius sowing the seeds of what is to come over the next 20 years. As a fixed sign, with Saturn rulership (traditional), I find Aquarius to often represent rigid opinions which tend to one extreme or another.
Both British and French elections occurred while Pluto in Aquarius opposed Mercury in Leo. The Moon conjoined Mercury during the French poll. The Pluto/Mercury opposition might indicate some attempt at trickery or attempted manipulation getting exposed or undermined. Bizarrely in both rounds of the French election Le Pens RN got more of the popular vote than the Labour Party in the U.K. achieved when winning by a landslide. I won’t pretend to understand how the French electoral system works but I gather it was largely introduced by De Gaulle to prevent the permanent factional divisions in the French Assemblies of the Fourth Republic. In this case it looks as though it may have failed. Interesting that both the U.K. and French election results look on the surface to be flawed as exercises in truly representative democracy.
Some education for those who get their news from The View.
In France the prime minister leads the GOVERNMENT, which comprises junior and senior ministers. It has at its disposal the civil service, government agencies, and the armed forces. The government is responsible to Parliament, and the National Assembly may pass a motion of censure, forcing the resignation of the government.While the President has to sign all acts adopted by parliament into law, he CANNOT REFUSE TO DO SO and exercise a kind of right of veto; his only power in that matter is to ask for a single reconsideration of the law by parliament and this power is subject to countersigning by THE PRIME MINISTER. In the present mess, the prospective prime minister Melenchon is avowedly anti-EU and anti-Nato. What a triumph of democracy!
Thank you! I lived in Paris for two years but wasn’t at the point in my life where I took pains to understand the electoral system. Also, my French was poor! This helps me considerably to understand better.
Panicked callouts for the 2nd round happened in the last election too and the one before, although it wasnt as tight.
This is an answer to A: When one has such bad knowledge of the French politics as well as of their leaders, the best to do is to stay silent.
For me the fact that an alliance has made a positive difference towards democracy is a good thing. I respect that. And I don’t see this as a victory for Putin, indeed that would’ve been what a Le Pen victory signaled? The tilt towards fascism and autocracy is a very real and imminent danger. And it affects us all. We are past playing games with personal political ambition, we are in the era of something much deeper than one man’s ego. Macron knows this. Bravo to him.
Indeed.
Wow. The rise of the left socialist progressive political party is not a backfire at all. If Pen would have won a racist party would be at the helm. Already rise of fascism all over the world is cause of concern so this win is welcome not a failure for Macron n France.
I meant – facist party at the helm.
A paralysed government with a pro-Putin over spender with a foot in the door? Fascism bad, the opposite just as bad.
At a certain point extreme left and right merge and become almost indistinguishable, as we’ve seen with Putin’s alliances with the far right in Europe and the US Republicans.