You are only ever betrayed by your own. By calling for an early presidential election, Edouard Philippe broke new ground and shattered a taboo on Tuesday, October 7. Until then, the demand for President Emmanuel Macron's early departure had remained confined to the far ends of the political spectrum and a few isolated voices. It had never been publicly raised within the president's own coalition.

Coming from a former prime minister who governed alongside the president for three years (2017-2020), the scenario of Macron's resignation – "in an orderly, dignified process," as Philippe put it, "in his own tempo, once the budget is passed" – now seems credible and can no longer be simply dismissed.

While the far-right Rassemblement National and radical-left La France Insoumise are both demanding Macron's immediate resignation, Philippe tried a relatively more conciliatory approach: "No one is forcing his hand," and "I'm not putting him up against the wall," he said in an interview with Le Figaro on Tuesday evening. But the goal hadn't changed: Macron's departure and a snap presidential election in the first half of 2026, a year before the end of the presidential term. "Otherwise, for another 18 months, we will see the crisis we have now persist and destroy France's credibility," argued Philippe.

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