France in July 2026: the most important developments in politics
In July 2026, French politics was dominated by the court ruling on Marine Le Pen and its effect on the 2027 presidential race. On 7 July a Paris court convicted the National Rally leader in the case involving her party and sentenced her to electronic monitoring. The next day she announced she will run for president regardless, alongside party head Jordan Bardella, and the Paris prosecutor said she would start her campaign without the bracelet. She filed an appeal on 21 July. Polls kept her in the lead, including against Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Edouard Philippe. On 30 July a Paris court rejected Gabriel Attal's request to bar the National Rally from using the word "renaissance", the name of his own party, in its slogan. Earlier, on 6 July, the government survived a no-confidence vote over its response to a deadly heatwave.
Foreign policy was the second theme. President Emmanuel Macron visited Syria on 6 and 7 July, the first Western head of state there since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, meeting Ahmad al-Shara and returning 23 Syrian artifacts. The 14 July Bastille Day parade highlighted support for Ukraine, with European troops taking part; Keir Starmer received France's highest honor, while Germany held back from Macron's coalition of the willing. Macron met Chancellor Friedrich Merz on 17 July, and the two countries announced deeper defense cooperation. On 20 July France said Iranian officers detained two of its diplomats in Tehran and physically abused one; Iran rejected the claim. On 27 and 28 July US diplomats walked out of a UN Security Council meeting after French criticism of a UN human rights vote, and Washington was reported to be considering blocking France's ambassador pick.
Wildfires became the main domestic issue late in the month. Macron convened a crisis cell on 26 July and called the fires the worst crisis since the Second World War; Türkiye and Ukraine offered help.
Parliament also approved a law allowing terminally ill adults to request medical assistance in dying, with a waiting period and medical committee approval.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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