News Analysis India

Tag: Emmanuel Macron

  • After Heavy Defeat in EU Vote, French President Macron Announces Snap Parliamentary Elections on June 30 |

    New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the country’s parliament, as well as the National Assembly, calling for snap elections after exit polls showcased his party’s heavy loss in European parliamentary elections on Sunday, according to CNN. Preliminary estimates showed that the far-right National Rally (RN) party won 31.5 per cent of the vote, more than double the share of Macron’s Renaissance Party, which barely managed to secure second place with 15.2 per cent of the vote, ahead of the Socialists in third place with 14.3 per cent.

    The leader of the RN, Jordan Bardella, called on Macron to dissolve the French parliament in a celebratory speech following the release of the exit poll.

    “This unprecedented defeat for the current government marks the end of a cycle, and Day 1 of the post-Macron era,” Bardella said, according to CNN.

    Meanwhile, Macron announced in an hour-long national address that he will dissolve the lower house of parliament in France and organise parliamentary elections. According to Macron, there will be two rounds: the first on June 30 and the second on July 7.

    “I have decided to give you back the choice of your parliamentary future by voting. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly this evening,” Macron said in an announcement on Sunday.

    “This decision is serious, heavy. But it is, above all, an act of trust. Trust in you, my dear compatriots. In the capacity of the French people to make the most just decision,” the French President said.

    Parliamentary elections are used in the French system to choose the 577 members of the National Assembly, the lower house.

    The country’s president is chosen through separate elections that aren’t expected to take place again until 2027.

    The Ensemble coalition, which included Macron’s Renaissance party, was unable to secure an outright majority in the legislative elections held in 2022 and was obliged to look for outside assistance.

    The EU elections represent the world’s second-largest democratic exercise, trailing only behind India’s elections in terms of scale. With almost 400 million voters across the EU, the electorate will select 720 members of the European Parliament, spanning from the Arctic circle to the borders of Africa and Asia.

    The outcome of these elections will shape policies on global issues ranging from climate change and defence to migration and international relations with major players like China and the United States.

  • France Becomes First Country To Constitutionalise Women's Right To Abortion | world news

    France on Monday made history by becoming the first country in the world to guarantee abortion rights in its constitution, CNN reported. The initiative was endorsed by legislators from both houses of the French Parliament, with a majority of 780 to 72 in favour, achieving the required three-fifths threshold to amend the French constitution.

    Remarkably, after the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the Roe v. Wade verdict that acknowledged women's constitutional right to abortion, a movement was launched in France to explicitly safeguard the right in its fundamental law. The final phase of the parliamentary process was the voting on Monday, which occurred at the Palace of Versailles, southwest of Paris, during a special gathering of lawmakers. The bill was passed with a large majority earlier this year by the French National Assembly and Senate.

    According to the amendment, abortion is a “guaranteed freedom” in France. Legislators and certain groups had pushed for tougher wording that would clearly designate abortion as a “right.” Hailed by lawmakers as a historic step, the measure demonstrated France's unwavering support for reproductive rights at a time when abortion rights are under attack in the US and in regions of Europe like Hungary where far-right parties are gaining ground, according to CNN. “My body, my choice” was illuminated on the Eiffel Tower after the results of the vote. Before the vote, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal stated that MPs owed women who had previously been forced to undergo illegal abortions a “moral debt.”

    “Above all, we're sending a message to all women: your body belongs to you,” Attal said. French President Emmanuel Macron said the government would hold a formal ceremony celebrating the amendment's passage on Friday, International Women's Rights Day, CNN reported.

    France first legalized abortion in 1975, after a campaign led by then-Health Minister Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became one of the country's most famous feminist icons.

    According to CNN, while abortion is a highly divisive issue in US politics that often falls along party lines, in France it is widely supported. Many of the lawmakers who voted against the amendment did so not because they opposed abortion, but because they felt the measure was unnecessary, given the wide support for reproductive rights.

  • Emmanuel Macron, Chief Guest Of 75th Republic Day Celebrations, Spends Time In India | Culture News

    French President Emmanuel Macron is the chief guest at the 75th Republic Day celebrations that is taking place in all its glory today, January 26, 2024. A day earlier the French President arrived in India but his first stop was the Pink City of Jaipur in Rajasthan. . Later at night, he arrived in the capital Delhi, where the grand Republic Day parade takes place. Macron’s visit marks a unique reciprocal exchange following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France on its National Day in July 2023.

    According to sources, in Delhi, the French President is staying at the luxury hotel ITC Maurya. He is reportedly staying on the Grand Presidential Floor of the hotel, where US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump have also stayed in the past. According to hotel sources, French President Macron is extremely warm and has a friendly demeanour. Even though he arrived at the hotel late at night, he warmly greeted the hotel staff and was all smiles.


    The hotel, where Macron is staying, was all lit up in tricolours ahead of India’s 75th Republic Day.

    When it comes to his diet, the hotel said the French President prefers to keep his breakfast very light and is especially fond of the fruit platter. You can catch a glimpse of the President’s favorite breakfast platter below.


    Earlier in the day, Macron called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a dear friend, Macron took to !”

    This is the sixth time (the highest for any country) that a French leader is participating in India’s biggest ceremonial event. This tradition began with President Jacques Chirac in 1976, followed by Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1980, Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008, and Francois Hollande in 2016. PM Modi and President Macron have engaged in a series of high-profile meetings throughout 2023, underscoring the strength and depth of the bilateral relationship. Their interactions have spanned various global platforms, including the COP 28 Summit in Dubai, the G20 Leaders’ Summit, and the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Notably, President Macron was also the Guest of Honor at the Bastille Day Celebrations in France in July 2023.