https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed France's Les Républicains party - the conservative successors to Charles De Gaulle, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy - has picked its candidate for the 2027 presidential election. The choice speaks volumes, writes John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20260422/opinion-frances-traditional-conservatives-will-not-stop-the-far-right-in-2027 Wed, 22 Apr 2026 10:56:23 +0200 opinion-frances-traditional-conservatives-will-not-stop-the-far-right-in-2027 The Hungarian people have decisively rejected authoritarian leader Viktor Orban and France's Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella seem worried - so is this the beginning of an anti-populist wave in Europe? If only politics was so simple, writes John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20260415/opinion-orbans-demise-is-a-blow-for-french-far-right-but-not-a-fatal-one Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:12:19 +0200 opinion-orbans-demise-is-a-blow-for-french-far-right-but-not-a-fatal-one France is being redrawn before our eyes - writes John Lichfield - the old political maps of Left-Right-Centre no longer make sense. Politicians are trying to re-invent them. https://www.thelocal.com/20260408/opinion-le-pen-pushes-to-cast-aside-far-right-label-as-france-redraws-political-map Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:40:11 +0200 opinion-le-pen-pushes-to-cast-aside-far-right-label-as-france-redraws-political-map As attention in France shifts to the 2027 presidential elections, John Lichfield looks at how the candidates will be be narrowed down and whether France is indeed 'sleepwalking into a Far-Right presidency'. https://www.thelocal.com/20260401/opinion-primaries-cannot-save-france-from-a-trumpian-future Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:18:39 +0200 opinion-primaries-cannot-save-france-from-a-trumpian-future This was a Mr Potato Head election - writes John Lichfield - pick different features of the municipal results on Sunday and you can give France the face of your choosing. https://www.thelocal.com/20260324/opinion-local-elections-show-french-far-right-is-beatable-but-not-by-this-fractured-and-squabbling-opposition Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:52:20 +0100 opinion-local-elections-show-french-far-right-is-beatable-but-not-by-this-fractured-and-squabbling-opposition We are in dire straits, writes John Lichfield. Donald Trump wants allies like France, and even rivals like China, to pull his chestnuts out of the boiling oil in the Straits of Hormuz. https://www.thelocal.com/20260318/opinion-macron-is-having-a-good-war-but-there-is-no-good-end-to-the-iran-disaster Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:40:29 +0100 opinion-macron-is-having-a-good-war-but-there-is-no-good-end-to-the-iran-disaster As France prepares for key local elections, John Lichfield looks at what the results can tell us about the strength of the 'republican front', the pact that voters can make to keep out the far right. https://www.thelocal.com/20260311/opinion-local-elections-will-show-if-france-still-has-the-will-to-resist-the-far-right Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:52:31 +0100 opinion-local-elections-will-show-if-france-still-has-the-will-to-resist-the-far-right As the US launches strikes against Iran, Emmanuel Macron's reaction has been very different to his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who refused to join the British and American invasion of Iraq in 2003 - John Lichfield examines why. https://www.thelocal.com/20260304/opinion-why-macron-will-not-do-a-chirac-over-this-gulf-war Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:23:15 +0100 opinion-why-macron-will-not-do-a-chirac-over-this-gulf-war Two weeks after the death of Far Right activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon, John Lichfield looks at the political fallout of the death of this previously unknown figure, and how it will affect France's upcoming elections. https://www.thelocal.com/20260225/opinion-the-death-of-quentin-deranque-will-tilt-frances-elections Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:04:13 +0100 opinion-the-death-of-quentin-deranque-will-tilt-frances-elections Sharing umbrellas is never easy. France has offered to 'extend' its nuclear umbrella to other European countries without actually 'sharing' it. How can that work, asks John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20260218/opinion-macrons-offer-to-extend-the-french-nuclear-umbrella-to-europe-is-fraught-with-problems Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:21:30 +0100 opinion-macrons-offer-to-extend-the-french-nuclear-umbrella-to-europe-is-fraught-with-problems Marine Le Pen won't be the next president of France, but could her protégé Jordan Bardella win next year's race? Bardella has flaws, writes John Lichfield, but the problem is no one has yet emerged who looks capable of beating him. https://www.thelocal.com/20260211/opinion-far-right-bardella-is-beatable-in-2027-but-no-one-looks-capable-of-it Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:31:19 +0100 opinion-far-right-bardella-is-beatable-in-2027-but-no-one-looks-capable-of-it Hypocrisy knows no political boundaries - writes John Lichfield - it can occur on the Left, on the Right and in the Centre. France is currently witnessing a particularly extreme and puzzling case of hypocrisy on the moralising, hard Right. https://www.thelocal.com/20260203/opinion-tv-anchors-child-sex-conviction-reveals-hypocrisy-of-french-right-wingers Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:08:39 +0100 opinion-tv-anchors-child-sex-conviction-reveals-hypocrisy-of-french-right-wingers Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has, through compromise and concession got his budget passed. John Lichfield says that Lecornu will likely remain prime minister until spring 2027 - but while he has steadied the ship, he has sacrificed all hope of tackling France's ballooning deficit. https://www.thelocal.com/20260128/opinion-pm-has-steadied-france-but-sacrificed-any-hope-of-cutting-the-deficit Wed, 28 Jan 2026 09:44:26 +0100 opinion-pm-has-steadied-france-but-sacrificed-any-hope-of-cutting-the-deficit European leaders sending their troops to Greenland has - writes political columnist John Lichfield - called Donald Trump's bluff when it comes to military conflict. Instead the continent faces the prospect of a long and brutal trade war. https://www.thelocal.com/20260120/opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:46:19 +0100 opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war French farmers benefit from huge EU subsidies and strong government support - so why are so many of them struggling, deep in debt and angry, asks John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20260114/opinion-french-farmers-are-suffering-from-decades-of-government-hypocrisy Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:51:04 +0100 opinion-french-farmers-are-suffering-from-decades-of-government-hypocrisy As Emmanuel Macron enters the last full year of his presidency, John Lichfield looks at the career of the man who promised so much, but seems doomed to end his mandate in failure. Where did it all go wrong for Macron, and for France? https://www.thelocal.com/20260107/analysis-emmanuel-macron-a-french-nero-or-misunderstood-visionary Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:17:19 +0100 analysis-emmanuel-macron-a-french-nero-or-misunderstood-visionary French politics faces a year of frantic immobility before a 2027 presidential election which could change everything, writes John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20251231/opinion-2026-will-be-a-crucial-year-for-france-but-its-politics-remain-paralysed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 09:50:29 +0100 opinion-2026-will-be-a-crucial-year-for-france-but-its-politics-remain-paralysed As roadblocks continue, John Lichfield argues that the Lumpy Skin Disease dispute is more than just another French farmer protest - it is a tragedy for small farmers, and another worrying step into anti-science politics. https://www.thelocal.com/20251216/opinion-french-cattle-cull-protesters-risk-becoming-the-new-anti-vaxxers Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:10:38 +0100 opinion-french-cattle-cull-protesters-risk-becoming-the-new-anti-vaxxers After a knife-edge vote in parliament, France now has the first half of its 2026 budget. Despite the budget itself being muddled and robbing Peter to pay Paul, it still counts as a victory for prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, writes John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.com/20251210/opinion-frances-muddled-half-budget-counts-as-a-big-win-for-the-embattled-pm Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:00:28 +0100 opinion-frances-muddled-half-budget-counts-as-a-big-win-for-the-embattled-pm After weeks of torturous debate, the parliamentary journey of France's 2026 budget is approaching the moment of truth, writes John Lichfield. Will Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's grand experiment succeed? https://www.thelocal.com/20251203/opinion-french-budget-showdown-inches-towards-the-climax Wed, 03 Dec 2025 10:15:54 +0100 opinion-french-budget-showdown-inches-towards-the-climax