Michel Rose

French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies on Sunday lost their absolute majority in the National Assembly and with it control of the reform agenda, a crushing outcome for the newly re-elected president.

Jupiter has lost his thunder. Emmanuel Macron, whose first presidential mandate was marked by a top-down government style he compared to that of the almighty Roman god, will have to learn the art of consensus-building in the second.

Jupiter has lost his thunder. Emmanuel Macron, whose first presidential mandate was marked by a top-down government style he compared to that of the almighty Roman god, will have to learn the art of consensus-building in the second.

Jupiter has lost his thunder. Emmanuel Macron, whose first presidential mandate was marked by a top-down government style he compared to that of the almighty Roman god, will have to learn the art of consensus-building in the second.

French President Emmanuel Macron may find himself without a ruling majority during his second term and deprived of the ability to push through his economic reform agenda with a free hand after a new left-wing alliance did well in the first round of voting.

The vibrant southern French city of Toulouse, home to pan-European industrial champion Airbus, might seem an unlikely prize for the anti-free market, eurosceptic Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Winning next month's legislative election may be a long shot for France's new hard-left alliance, but the fact President Emmanuel Macron now faces two eurosceptic opposition blocs should cause concern among France's European Union partners.

Winning next month's legislative election may be a long shot for France's new hard-left alliance, but the fact President Emmanuel Macron now faces two eurosceptic opposition blocs should cause concern among France's European Union partners.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid a surprise visit to a Socialist-held working class suburb north of Paris on Wednesday on his first official outing since his re-election, in an effort to woo left-wing voters ahead of June's parliamentary vote.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid a surprise visit to a Socialist-held working-class suburb of Paris on Wednesday on his first official outing since his re-election, in an effort to woo left-wing voters ahead of June's parliamentary vote.

It is known in France as the political job from hell.

Now comes the hard part.Emmanuel Macron may have seen off far-right leader Marine Le Pen, but his second term could be even rockier than the first with mounting political opposition and boiling social discontent.

Now comes the hard part.Emmanuel Macron may have seen off far-right leader Marine Le Pen, but his second term could be even rockier than the first with mounting political opposition and boiling social discontent.

President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker who was elected in 2017 on a promise to be neither of the left nor the right, is projected in voter surveys to win a second term against a resurgent far-right Marine Le Pen, although with a smaller margin of victory.

The French will decide on Sunday whether to re-elect pro-business centrist President Emmanuel Macron or blow up decades of mainstream consensus in favour of far-right Marine Le Pen.

French President Emmanuel Macron cleared a major hurdle on the path to re-election with a combative TV debate performance against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen that convinced most viewers, a poll said, even if he was still deemed arrogant.

President Emmanuel Macron promised on Saturday to make France the "first great nation" to stop using oil, coal and gas as energy sources, in a pitch to young and green voters he fears could abstain in next week's election runoff.

Former conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday endorsed Emmanuel Macron ahead of the second round in France's presidential election, in a move that may complicate Macron's charm offensive with left-wing voters.

President Emmanuel Macron won't be able to count on French voters' traditional anti-far right front in the final runoff and will need to step up his campaign if he is to defeat Marine Le Pen, who has successfully softened her image.

President Emmanuel Macron will not be able to count on French voters' traditional anti-far right front in the final runoff and will need to step up his campaign if he is to defeat Marine Le Pen, who has successfully softened her image.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned of the risk of a Brexit-style election upset in his only campaign rally before the first round of the presidential election, in a bid to convince dispirited voters and re-energise a lacklustre campaign.

Voters told French President Emmanuel Macron to focus more on the needs of his country in a call-in radio show on Tuesday amid criticism that his last-minute election campaign has been too dominated by the conflict in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he would run for a second term in April's elections, seeking a mandate to steer the euro zone's second-largest economy through the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.

French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian COVID-19 test when he arrived to see President Vladimir Putin this week, to prevent Russia getting hold of Macron's DNA, two sources in Macron's entourage told Reuters.

French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian COVID-19 test when he arrived to see President Vladimir Putin this week, and was therefore kept at a distance from the Russian leader, two sources in Macron's entourage told Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spent much of his marathon talks with France's Emmanuel Macron this week on the Ukraine crisis reciting grievances that date back to the end of the Cold War, two sources in the French leader's entourage said.

France has decided to shut its Business France trade agency in Russia after what it said on Monday was a long period of negotiations with local authorities following Moscow’s expulsion of its director.