European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on February 27 the provisional application of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, without awaiting ratification by the European Parliament. This move, welcomed in Berlin, comes as Emmanuel Macron appears weakened on the European stage following the failed dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024. It highlights Franco-German tensions amid the Paris Agricultural Show and ahead of municipal elections.
Emmanuel Macron, limited by national impotence since the dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024, is seen as weakened in Brussels, akin to a "lame duck." Ursula von der Leyen's announcement on Friday, February 27, of the provisional application of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement—bypassing European Parliament ratification—could not have come at a worse time for the French president. The move delighted Berlin but left Macron vulnerable to criticism in France, during the Agricultural Show, less than a month before municipal elections and a year and a half from the presidential vote where the National Rally leads in polls.
This development reflects a European landscape where France appears sidelined. While Macron has won ideological battles on European sovereignty, his current standing is reduced. Analyses point to the need to revive the Franco-German engine to bolster France's role in the EU, preventing the spillover of domestic challenges to the continental stage.