Nicolas Beytout

This is a perilous step, L’Humanité warns: “Alloncle and his allies dream of privatising this public service. ... These lackeys in suits and ties intend to dismantle the cornerstones [of public service broadcasting]: information, education and entertainment. The ideological alignment here is unmistakable. ... If the far right wins the 2027 presidential election, political control will become total.”

Libération sees a left that has achieved partial victory but is more deeply divided: “The left's success in the country's three largest cities – Paris, Marseille and Lyon – is, of course, very good news for the Socialists and the Greens. ... But in reality the outcome for the left is very mixed. ... Many Socialists have lost their cities despite their alliance with La France insoumise – or perhaps because of it. ...

France lacks capable leaders, Les Echos laments: “Election after election, our fellow citizens are turning away from a political class that keeps disappointing them. Its inability to keep promises and failure to manage public finances at the national and local levels is increasingly discrediting it in the eyes of the French. This is undoubtedly the final warning before voters make a clean break, even at the risk of losing control of their own destiny.