France’s snap elections made the far-left and the far-right stronger than ever

Transcript

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Now to presidential politics in France. When President Emmanuel Macron called snap legislative elections last month, he shocked even some of the closest members of his Cabinet. The results of those elections made the far left and the far right stronger than ever. And while Macron held onto power, he is more isolated than ever. This has left many in France wondering, what was the president thinking? Reporter Rebecca Rosman went looking for answers.

REBECCA ROSMAN, BYLINE: When he first broke into mainstream politics eight years ago, Emmanuel Macron quickly gained a reputation for being a high-stakes gambler.

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PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Non-English language spoken).

ROSMAN: You could say it all started here in 2016, when he announced he was running for the country's highest office.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

ROSMAN: Macron went from being a little-known economy minister to creating his own political centrist party and, to the shock of the country, winning the presidency.

SOPHIE PEDDER: People said it was impossible, you could never do anything as fast as that.

ROSMAN: Sophie Pedder is the Paris bureau chief for The Economist and author of "Revolution Francaise," a book about Macron's first year in office. She qualifies him as someone who has always had a high appetite for risk.

PEDDER: He also has an appetite for disruption. And I think these two factors you need to - help to understand why he was prepared to do what he did.

ROSMAN: She's talking about what he did here...

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MACRON: (Non-English language spoken).

ROSMAN: ...Calling snap legislative elections last month after his party was handed an embarrassing defeat to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally in European Union parliamentary elections. The move sent the country into shock, and polls predicted a legislative majority for Le Pen's party for the first time in its history. But that's not what happened.

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ROSMAN: Instead, it was a hastily formed coalition of left wing parties that walked away with a majority. Macron's centrist coalition came in second, and the far right trailed in third. Here's Sophie Pedder again.

PEDDER: I think in one respect, his gamble has paid off, and that was that the French do not want the far right to be in government. They made that very clear.

ROSMAN: But on the other hand, Pedder says this latest gamble came at a huge cost.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).

ROSMAN: Lawmakers entered a new and extremely divided parliament last week. Macron's centrist ally, Yael Braun-Pivet, was unexpectedly reelected as the Assembly's president. But with no party holding an absolute majority, there's still no clear path to a new government. Meanwhile, Macron was also forced to accept the resignation of his prime minister, Gabriel Attal, who is said to be increasingly fed up with Macron for failing to consult his inner circle.

SYLVIE KAUFFMANN: He only trusts himself, apparently.

ROSMAN: Sylvie Kauffmann is the editorial director for the French newspaper Le Monde. She's one of many critics of Macron's gambling, which she believes is less about genius and more about narcissism. Kauffmann also says that despite the initial relief Macron may have had about keeping out the far right yet again, the party today is still closer to power than ever before.

KAUFFMANN: The last thing he wanted was to have to hand over the keys of the Elysee Palace to Marine Le Pen when he leaves office in 2027. And, you know, this is - definitely cannot - this cannot be ruled out now. So this whole operation, which has been so unsettling for the French and we don't know how it will eventually end.

ROSMAN: Nor does Macron. But he did give some clues behind his decision-making strategy in a recent interview with The Economist. Politics isn't about reading polls, Macron told the magazine. It's a fight. It's about ideas. It's about convictions. It's about reaching out to people. And above all, he said, it's about guts.

For NPR News, I'm Rebecca Rosman in Paris. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.