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French President Emmanuel Macron said he took responsibility for the political divide caused by his decision to hold snap parliamentary elections in the summer, saying the move had created “more instability than peace”.
“I have to realize tonight that the abolition has brought more divisions to the Assembly than the resolutions of the French people,” he said in a New Year's speech. “I totally agree with that.”
The speech, Macron's eighth as president, comes to an end in a year in which his political influence has been greatly reduced by the impeachment in June, which empowered the National Assembly and the French parliament was divided into three blocs.
After the disappointing performance of his centrist candidates in the European elections in early June, Macron shocked France by dissolving parliament, saying the country needed a “moment of clarity” to deal with the RN's rise in European elections.
But the next election produced his opposition to the main, pro-business agenda and made the RN France the largest party in a fractured parliament.
Macron appointed incumbent politician and former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as prime minister in September. However, he was fired in a motion of no confidence last month after failing to win support from the left and the right for a budget designed to reduce France's deficit, which is set to reach 6 percent by 2024.
Macron appointed his colleague François Bayrou as prime minister. Calling on politicians to mislead in 2025, he suggested he would also ask French voters to vote again next year.
“I'm going to ask you to decide on some key issues, because each of you will have a role to play,” he said in comments that many commentators have suggested should be aimed at 2025.
Macron also referred to the challenges of foreign policy in France in the coming year.
After the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, who called for an increase in defense spending by NATO partners, Macron said, “Europe can no longer give security and defense to other powers,” repeating his calls for European defense spending.
He also called on Europe to “simplify its rules” to encourage more investment in the industry.
But the address is unlikely to change Macron's views among voters. His popularity has fallen to a record low this year, with only 21 percent of people having confidence in his ability to deal with France's problems, in a December Elabe poll.
His right-wing rival Marine Le Pen said in her New Year's message on Tuesday that “late regrets or appeals by a head of state who has been scorned will certainly not change anything”.
While he did not strongly call for Macron to hold the first presidential election before the next vote scheduled for 2027, Le Pen said that 2025 will be the “decisive year”, adding that France can only solve its problems “through a democratic decision”.