Großbritannien ist plötzlich ein Leuchtturm der Stabilität in Europa – jetzt ist Frankreich im Aufruhr

Submission statement: Writing in *The Guardian*, [Timothy Garton Ash](https://www.hoover.org/profiles/timothy-garton-ash) argues that recent elections have delivered relative stability in the UK, while heralding continued domestic division and gridlock in France. As he writes, “the news from London is more encouraging than that from Paris. Yes, an astronaut orbiting our planet would have heard a huge sigh of relief rising from the entire European continent at 8pm French time on Sunday evening, as we learned that RN had not repeated its spectacular success in the first round of this parliamentary election and would only be the [third-largest group](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/07/exit-poll-shows-surprise-win-for-left-wing-alliance-in-french-election) in the national assembly, the lower house of the French parliament. But that’s where the good news ends. If in Britain the popular vote was first and foremost to kick the Conservatives out, in France it was to keep RN out, not to put anyone in particular in.”

Do you agree with the argument that “France will have a strong position in Europe but a weak government”? In what policy areas will this matter most?