T21

The Socialists have announced that they will file a censure motion against Prime Minister Bayrou. This was a demise foretold months ago when Bayrou first proposed the idea of a […]

Eventually, as in every election, the parties must stop dithering and hoping, Micawberlike, that “something will turn up.” Gouverner, c’ est chosir, dixit Mendès France, and before one can govern, one must […]

Marine Le Pen has now officially thrown her hat in the ring; Jordan Bardella has been relegated to second place in the binôme that she announced last night would present itself to […]

A dramatic dénouement to the long-running Marine Le Pen saga. the appellate court confirmed the verdict of guilty on the charge of misappropriation of EU funds, sentenced her to 3 […]

Ask anyone in France today who is most likely to win the 2027 presidential election and the answer is almost certain to be “either Jordan Bardella or Marine Le Pen.” […]

Raphaël Glucksmann, who still has not officially declared his candidacy, staged a campaign launch rally yesterday at Les Docks de Paris in Aubervilliers. Although the stated capacity of the venue […]

Like it or not, the 2027 presidential race is under way. I plan to post periodically on the race. The field is crowded, as Le Gorafi, the French equivalent of The Onion, […]

I review Patrick Weil’s new book De l’immigration en France here.

cross-posted from my Substack:   I’ve been traveling in the UK and France for the past two-and-a-half weeks, which explains my silence here. While in Paris, I saw the newly […]

Can it get any worse for the Socialist Party? It can always get worse, of course, but the mass defection of the entire faction led by Boris Vallaud may well […]

Lionel Jospin has died. He was a good man, a less good politician; an able prime minister, a lackluster presidential candidate. He was among the most intelligent and impressive of […]

The results of the second round of France’s municipal elections are in. There is a little good news for everybody, which is another way of saying that the political landscape […]

The results of the first round of the 2026 municipal elections confirm the (hopelessly?) fragmented state of French politics and the growing apathy of much of the electorate. Participation was […]

First, to faithful readers, please forgive my long silence on this site. I’ve been busy launching my Substack site devoted to broader questions of US and international politics. Please check […]

On green localities and local freedoms: returning to one of Europe’s “Green Capitals” In 2020 my family and I moved back to France, to the city of Nantes, after ten […]

President Macron’s initial response to the U.S. invasion of Venezuela was less than inspiring. He simply applauded the removal of a brutal dictator without mentioning the fact that the manner […]

I wrote about Putin’s willingness to discuss Ukraine with Macron on my Substack.

Today the National Assembly passed the social security budget by the narrow majority of 247-234 with 93 abstentions. Sébastien Lecornu secured the abstention of most Greens by making a last-minute […]

I make no pretense of attempting to describe the tortuous and tortured National Assembly “debate” over the budget. The whole exercise has been a case study in the weaknesses and […]

Raphaël Glucksmann has shown a bit of his hand. Having until now declined overtures from the Hollande wing of the Socialist Party, he finally gave in and appeared with the […]

So there will be no Zucman tax, not even in watered-down form, but the principal questions remain: Will a budget be approved? Will the government fall to a censure vote? […]

Reviewed by Philip Decker Brandon Bloch has written a superb new history of Germany’s twentieth century, told from the perspective of a large, heterogenous cast of Protestant theologians, intellectuals, judges, […]

Eventually, even the blind man can read the handwriting on the wall. Despite his stubbornness, Emmanuel Macron knows how to read, and recognizing that the end was nigh, he finally […]

Chers amis, my powers of punditry are exhausted. Why would Macron re-appoint Lecornu, who failed to form a government less than a week ago? Has Bruno Retailleau agreed this time […]

Today, Édouard Philippe called on Emmanuel Macron to resign (after passage of a budget) and call an early presidential election, gladdening the heart of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who declared that LFI […]

The Lecornu government is no more, only hours after being named. I will waste no words on what went wrong: Lecornu was doomed from the beginning, because neither he nor […]

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to 5 years in prison (not just an electronic ankle bracelet, which he’s been wearing for some time now) for his part in […]

In military parlance, “to mark time” is to move one’s feet in a steady cadence without actually going anywhere. Emmanuel Macron, who entered politics with the command “En Marche!”, is […]

Macron, acting quickly for once, has nominated defense minister Sébastien Lecornu to be the next prime minister. This, of course, resolves nothing if Lecornu cannot win the confidence of the […]

I have a new piece in Foreign Policy. Unfortunately, it’s paywalled, and the title misrepresents the content, which is about what will happen when Bayrou falls and Macron doesn’t resign. […]

L’Express put some questions to me about the current crisis, and I answered them. A shortened, edited French version was published online today but is behind a paywall. Here is […]

As if the likely imminent fall of yet another government (with a vote scheduled for Seeptember 8) were not enough uncertainty for one week, a new social movement labeled Bloquons […]

“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” — Samuel Johnson Yesterday, Prime Minister François Bayrou stood […]

Sur la fragilité des normes démocratiques Le nouveau numéro de La revue Tocqueville est désormais disponible en ligne sur UTP (Vol. 46, No. 1). La revue Tocqueville est une revue scientifique […]

A debate has broken out among three potential presidential candidates for 2027. It isn’t a particularly edifying debate, nor an incisive one, but phrases resembling ideas are being bandied about […]

The Socialist Party held its congress and confirmed its paralysis. Olivier Faure, the outgoing leader, managed to hold on to his post, but just barely, against challenger Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, after […]

What was Gaullism? Yesterday’s smashing victory for Bruno Retailleau over Laurent Wauquiez for the presidency of Les Républicains can be viewed in many perspectives–in terms of its implications for the […]

The Tocqueville Society and the American University of Paris are delighted to sponsor an interdisciplinary conference in Paris on “A Quarter-Millenium of Franco-American Relations,” to be held on May 28-29, […]

In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us (Princeton University Press, 2025) is addressed to American liberals. Written by two eminent Princeton political scientists, Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee, it […]

(Note: Originally published on the Tocqueville 21 Substack) Dear Readers, We are now over one hundred days into the second Trump administration. At this (early!) point, the structural impact on […]

With Marine Le Pen sidelined, at least temporarily, it was inevitable that politicians from the not-so-center-right would make a pitch for her votes. Laurent Wauquiez, locked in a race for […]

CALL FOR PAPERS: A Quarter-Millenium of Franco-American Relations The Tocqueville Society and the American University of Paris are delighted to sponsor an interdisciplinary conference in Paris on “A Quarter-Millenium of […]

Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of misappropriating European Parliament funds to support her political party in France. The sentence includes both hard “prison” time (2 years with an […]

As Dr. Johnson observed long ago, “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Donald Trump’s dressing-down of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in […]

“This is going to be great television,” President Trump declared with satisfaction after he and his vice-president teamed up to hector Ukrainian President Zelensky about his alleged lack of gratitude […]

A few days ago, Emmanuel Macron met with Donald Trump. After the meeting, Macron, with his usual self-confidence, seemed certain that he had headed off a US-Europe trade war: ‘“Come […]

Collective Beliefs, and a forum on Degenerations of Democracy (2022).   The new issue of The Tocqueville Review is now available online on Muse or UTP (Vol. 45, No. 2) The Tocqueville […]

As I write, François Bayrou is still speaking to the Assemblée Nationale, and the deputies of La France Insoumise have not given up their disgraceful heckling, despite having failed to […]

There are many rhythms in politics, in which, as the adage goes, “a week is a long time.” Sometimes. At other times, a lifetime is not long enough. Jean-Marie Le […]

The new government has just been announced, and I am rubbing my eyes in disbelief. Elisabeth Borne as no. 2? Retailleau still at Interior. Darmanin at Justice. Dati maintained at […]

Apparently, there will be no announcement of a new government this evening. François Bayrou has never been a man in a hurry. Unlike the president, who is always in a […]

After the now customary tergiversation, Emmanuel Macron has made his choice: François Bayrou. Bayrou, until now always the bridesmaid but never the bride, hadn’t been able to cash on his […]

Macron has spoken. He will not resign–no surprise there. Beyond that, he gave nothing away about his intentions, except to make it clear that he continues to believe in the […]

Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly last June because he knew he would face a censure vote on the budget in the fall. He had hoped to wrong-foot the parties […]

As the United States devolves into kakistocracy and Kiev trembles under the threat of massive Russian retaliation for the first use of long-range American and British missiles against Russian territory, […]

  Well, the polls were indeed wrong, and Donald Trump won a decisive victory. We must now recognize him as the most important American political figure since, well, probably, Franklin […]

Bernard Manin (1951-2024) Political theory has just lost one of its towering figures: Bernard Manin passed away on Friday November 1, 2024. Director of Studies at the École des Hautes […]

With election day almost here, the polls all continue to show an agonizingly close race, but the polling data itself remains frustratingly hard to interpret. According to the New York […]

Yes, it’s all about him, and it was always going to be all about him. But will he win? With one week to go, Trump and Harris are both campaigning […]

Two weeks to go, and the presidential polls remain as close as they could possibly be. Little has shifted in the past seven days, and there has been little real […]

This is Aurelian Craiutu’s response to four critics of his Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals. The reviews to which this post is a response can be found over the […]

This is the fourth in a series of four reviews of Aurelian Craiutu’s Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals. Tocqueville 21 Forum on Aurelian Craiutu, Why Not Moderation? Letters […]

This is the third in a series of four reviews of Aurelian Craiutu’s Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals. Tocqueville 21 Forum on Aurelian Craiutu, Why Not Moderation? Letters […]

This is the second in a series of four reviews of Aurelian Craiutu’s Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals. Tocqueville 21 Forum on Aurelian Craiutu, Why Not Moderation? Letters to […]

Today, Tocqueville 21 publishes the first of four reviews of Aurelian Craiutu’s Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals (Cambridge University Press, 2024). The first contribution is by Michael Behrent. In subsequent […]

Over the past week, very little has changed in the presidential race. The polls in the seven key battleground states remain agonizingly close, and the election’s political dynamics seem, for […]

The circus is over, France has a government, and the government has presented its budget. It is a budget of harsh austerity, which seeks to cut expenditure by 80 billion […]

Has Kamala Harris’s campaign stalled? It is now less than a month before the election, and the energy and excitement that built up around the Democratic candidate after her assumption […]

Since my last column, remarkably little has changed in the presidential campaign. Observers mostly agreed that Kamala Harris decisively beat Donald Trump in their September 10 debate (Trump, of course, […]

** In August, we published four reviews of Jamie Martin’s The Meddlers, as well as a response by the author. The entire forum is now available as a PDF.   […]

By any reasonable measure it was a massacre. Overall, Kamala Harris performed brilliantly, under enormous pressure. She spoke lucidly, fluidly, convincingly, eloquently. She did not let Donald Trump fluster her. […]

Review: Wolfram Eilenberger, Shaun Whiteside (translator), The Visionaries: Arendt, Beauvoir, Rand, Weil and the Power of Philosophy in Dark Times (Penguin Press)   The years from 1933 to 1943 constitute among […]

The French left is now doomed to opposition for the foreseeable future. This is perhaps not the worst place to be, given the fractious nature of the new minority-majority, which […]

  So where do things stand?  After some of the most dramatic events in recent American history—the Biden-Trump debate, the assassination attempt, Biden’s exit from the race, and Kamala Harris’s […]

Yes, indeed, the process of nominating a prime minister in France has been a rollicking circus worthy of Barnum and Bailey, and the nomination this morning of Michel Barnier therefore […]

The “Olympic truce” did nothing to clarify the French political situation. Now that President Macron has definitively rejected the New Popular Front’s prime minister-designate, Lucie Castets, an epidemic of bad […]

Édouard Philippe announced yesterday that he is running for president, although the election is still almost three years away. Or is it? As the seriousness of the current political impasse […]

Since Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, the revival of the Democratic Party has defied virtually all expectations. Vice-President Kamala Harris quickly and skillfully united the Democrats behind her, […]

** This is Jamie Martin’s author response to our forum on his recent book The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance.** It’s a great honor and privilege […]

** This is the third of three reviews of Jamie Martin’s The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance. Each day this week one review will be published, and […]

** This is the second of three reviews of Jamie Martin’s The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance. Each day this week one review will be published, and […]

** This is the first of three reviews of Jamie Martin’s The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance. Each day this week one review will be published, and […]

** This is the introduction to a forum comprising three reviews of Jamie Martin’s The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance. Each day this week one review will […]

  It has been just two and a half weeks since Joe Biden decided to end his campaign for reelection, and in that time the presidential race has been entirely […]

Autocracy vs. Democracy ? A New Geopolitical Landscape in France, Europe and The United States   A new issue of The Tocqueville Review is now available online (Vol. 45, No. 1) A social […]

Par Catherine Audard et Cécile Laborde. Le processus de sécularisation de la société française qui a commencé pendant la Révolution française et qui se poursuit de nos jours semble avant […]

You can call American politics a lot of things, but boring is not one of them. In less than two months, we have seen the former president and Republican nominee […]

Yaël Braun-Pivet has been reelected president of the National Assembly, narrowly edging out the NFP candidate André Chassaigne with the help of votes from the newly rebaptized Droite Républicaine, ex-LR. […]

The New Popular Front briefly reinvigorated the left with enthusiasm for the idea of stopping the radical right in its tracks and, with luck, achieving major social advances, including a […]

The Socialists, Greens, and Communists have agreed to propose Laurence Tubiana as the NFP’s candidate for prime minister, but LFI has rejected the proposal as “not serious.” On the contrary, […]

As a historian, I like to think that the course of human events falls into regular, knowable patterns that a careful observer can uncover and explain. But there are days […]

Blocages is too mild a word for the paralysis that has gripped the French political class since last Sunday’s election. It’s not just the tripartite division of the National Assembly that […]

The New Popular Front seems well on the way to following the old Nupes into oblivion. The four parties have been unable to agree on the name of a future […]

Yesterday was a day full of revelations. First, we learned that Jordan Bardella, deprived of the chance to become France’s next prime minister, will instead become the president of Patriots […]

What is one to make of all the posturing among the deputies newly elected to la Chambre introuvable? The Mélenchonistes look like amateur poker players going all in on a pair of […]

My reaction to the stunning election results is now up at The New Republic. Thanks for reading.

(Originally posted on the Tocqueville 21 Substack) Not a victory for any one party, but an overwhelming defeat for the far right. Dear readers, All cards are now on the […]

No, I haven’t been stunned into silence by yesterday’s amazing and worrisome result. I’ve written an article for The New Republic: here’s the link. In the meantime, I want to […]

The outcome of Sunday’s second round remains unpredictable. The désistements have made it even more improbable that the RN will win an absolute majority … unless, of course, voters decide not to […]