France: Economic and Political Overview
François Bayrou, a veteran centrist, was then appointed as the fourth prime minister of the year, with his administration largely supported by the centrist parties MoDem and La République En Marche (LREM). However, he left office in September 2025 after losing a confidence vote on the new budget. President Macron appointed Sébastien Lecornu to succeed him from 9 September 2025. Lecornu resigned on 6 October 2025, as he felt that the political conditions were not right for effective governance. However, he was reappointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron to form a new government.
In the 2024 European Parliament elections, the far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, emerged as the leading party in France, securing a significant portion of the vote. Macron’s centrist party, LREM, experienced a decline, while traditional parties such as the Socialist Party (PS) and The Republicans (LR) also faced losses.
On the international stage, France has remained a strong supporter of Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. Macron has emphasized the need for Europe to increase defence spending to reduce reliance on the United States and to adapt to evolving security challenges. He has also stressed the importance of continued support for Ukraine, despite the potential risks, including the possibility of direct confrontation with Russia.
President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance maintained an alliance with the MoDem to consolidate the center ground. On the left, a coalition known as the New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES) was formed in 2022, comprising parties like LFI, PS and EELV.
The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House
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Latest Update: October 2025
