"A republican surge" (La Libre Belgique), "France stops the far right" (El Pais), "French revolution" (La Repubblica). After a week of uncertainty over the outcome of the French parliamentary elections, which were called after President Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale on June 9, the foreign press hailed the mobilization of French voters on Sunday, July 7, to prevent a far-right victory. Enthusiasm, however, soon gave way to concern about the deep divisions that can be seen in the composition of the newly-elected legislative body, which contains no clear majority. Many columnists believe this will lead to a country that is difficult to govern, in the grip of lasting paralysis, and whose society seems more fragmented than ever.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, for example, noted that "the firewall is holding against [Marine] Le Pen," referring to, as did many German publications, the "Republican Front" strategy of blocking the far right. This issue is also gaining attention in Germany, in the face of the ascendancy of the national-populist AfD party. "It's a great relief to see that Le Pen's rise has been curbed. But the situation is far from rosy. France, and therefore Europe, is heading for a period of instability," wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Meanwhile, El Pais argued that the joy elicited by the surge against the far right must not conceal the reality of the votes: "Satisfaction must not cloud the figures," warned the Spanish daily newspaper, pointing out that "discontent will still be present tomorrow." Belgium's Le Soir concurred: "If France's democratic forces, which saved the day on Sunday by uniting," do not succeed in "overcoming their divisive rhetoric and short-term calculations, this republican front will only be provisional."

The Guardian struck a similar tone, a mixture of relief and concern, noting that "while the left-green alliance look set to form the largest bloc [in the Assemblée], the country [France] could face years of political paralysis." The Financial Times pointed out that "France heads back to its postwar era of ungovernability." "The republican front has won, but the president is left with a totally divided Parliament and country," observed the Dutch daily newspaper NRC, in unison with the other leading European titles.

Across the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal noted that President Macron "now faces the challenge of cobbling together a government from a disparate group of parties that have little in common besides their desire to keep the far-right out of power." The New York Times wrote that the French people's votes above all "sent a stinging message to the pro-business elites gathered around Mr. Macron." While it welcomed the French rejection of the far right, the American daily newspaper had one fear: "At a time when a faltering President Biden is struggling to counter the nationalist America First message of former president Donald J. Trump, protracted French political limbo could add to an unstable international situation."

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