France is a centre-led EU power under President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, facing severe domestic instability as cost-of-living protests enter their fourth week with 70,000 security forces deployed nationwide and 146,000 demonstrators reported on 2026-11-08. The government confronts a fragmented 2027 presidential field with far-right Marine Le Pen leading polls and radical left Jean-Luc Mélenchon launching his "A Shared Future" manifesto on 2026-11-08, while ECB President Christine Lagarde announced her resignation effective 2027-02-07 to potentially enter the race.
