The crisis engulfing Emmanuel Macron contains a warning for Keir Starmer | Rafael Behr

<p>The French president dominated the centre ground but has failed to build a legacy there. Labour is in danger of doing the same</p><p>Britain and France do not share a fixed quota of political stability such that reduced volatility on one side of the Channel causes chaos across the water. It was just a coincidence that Keir Starmer won a huge majority <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/03/two-elections-angry-voters-france-uk-calais-dover">at precisely the moment</a> last July when legislative elections made France ungovernable for Emmanuel Macron.</p><p>It was a misfortune for both men, and for Europe, that their political trajectories were out of sync. Macron had dealt with four Tory prime ministers before finding a potential ally in the ascendant Labour leader. By then his presidency was in spiralling decline. Britain was rousing itself from Brexit delirium just as France was losing the plot.</p><p>Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/15/emmanuel-macron-keir-starmer-crisis-france-president-labour">Continue reading...</a>