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White smoke (at last): France has a new Government

The new government team was announced on Saturday evening, September 21st. Its members come mostly from parties on the right and center-right, with a delicate balance between members of the President’s own Renaissance party, which bagged the highest number of seats in the government (12 ministers), and the party of the traditional right Les Républicains […]

Political Weekly Update August 2nd

On Sunday, June 9th, 2024, a new political and institutional era opened in France. President Macron’s announcement that he was dissolving the National Assembly, which came as a bombshell on the night of a heavy defeat for the presidential majority in the European elections, has opened a new period that should usher in major changes […]

Editorial

“This unprecedented context could be an opportunity for democracy to adjust and enter a new stage of maturity.”   On the evening of Sunday, July 7th, France turned a new page in its institutional history. Since the proclamation of the results of the 2nd round of the snap legislative elections, the country is discovering and […]

French snap elections – 2nd round results and next steps

Below are the official results of the 2nd round of the legislative elections held June 30th and July 7th, as well as the possible government scenarios and next steps. An unprecedented political period is opening in France, characterized by numerous uncertainties.   Official results Turnout: 66.63%. By way of reminder, the turnout for the 1st […]

Issue Brief on the Adoption of Finance Bills in France

Could a Hung Parliament Result in the Rejection of the Annual Budget Law and Lead to a “French Shutdown”?   Executive summary The 1958 Constitution of the Fifth Republic and the 2001 Organic law on Financial Acts (LOLF) provide a strict framework for parliamentary scrutiny of fiscal laws and lay down a series of mechanisms […]

Snap Elections Ahead: Macron’s Response to EU Elections in France

Although the EU election results were not surprising, with the party of the presidential majority coming in second, far behind the far-right RN, French President Emmanuel Macron decided to dissolve the National Assembly (lower house of Parliament) and call for snap elections. This entails the holding of the first round of legislative elections on June […]

AI Act to be approved by member-state ambassadors this Friday

The German government’s announcement of its support for the compromise reached between Parliament and Council negotiators on the AI Act should pave the way for its adoption by the Council of the EU. The European Parliament is expected to vote in mid-February. Our team in Brussels went through the text of the final agreement and shared with […]

EU lawmakers strike provisional deal on AI Act, but challenges lie ahead

Europe takes a step towards regulating Artificial Intelligence with the political agreement on the AI Act

Will the technical discussions reach an end before the EU elections?   The last and final round of interinstitutional negotiations faced intense scrutiny and attention over the past few days. Negotiators have been celebrating what they describe as a “historic deal” that will make Europe “the best place in the world to develop artificial intelligence”, […]