Opinion and Analysis
Read the latest opinion and analysis from France.
OPINION: France should learn from the success of its wonderful multi-racial football team
Talented French footballers - many drawn from the multi-racial suburbs - have become a net export for the country. France itself could learn a great deal from the success of its grassroots sports operation, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: Le Pen has not 'defeated the system', but she may yet win French presidency
Marine Le Pen may have been convicted for a second time for organising a conspiracy to steal millions of euros from the EU, but the scandal has likely boosted the far right's chances of victory in next year's French presidential election, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: France's air conditioning debate threatens to drown out climate action
Marine Le Pen does not believe in global warming - writes John Lichfield. She believes in air-conditioning.
OPINION: Crowded field in France's 2027 election won't necessarily hand victory to the far-right
The field for France's presidential election in 2027 currently resembles the starting line-up at the Paris or London marathon, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: The French are right to shun air conditioning - even during heatwaves
France's heatwaves always spark debates on air conditioning - which much of the country remains deeply resistant to. Some argue that warming temperatures make widespread AC inevitable, but The Local's editor Emma Pearson explains why she thinks the French are right to resist.
OPINION: Russia is stepping up its propaganda, helped by a French billionaire
Russian propaganda and pro-Kremlin talking points, once veiled, have become overt in certain sections of the French media, writes John Lichfield. So why have the Putin-supporters come out into the open now, and what does it mean for French politics?
OPINION: The French pension crisis could be a landmine for Jordan Bardella
Jordan Bardella has stumbled upon reality - writes John Lichfield. A dangerous thing for a populist politician.
OPINION: Why French football victories lead to riots
The Champions League win of Paris Saint-Germain football club was followed by widespread rioting with almost 900 people arrested and three deaths. John Lichfield looks at how a French football victory leads to these kind of scenes.
OPINION: Emmanuel Macron - where did it all go wrong?
With almost a year of his presidency left to run, Emmanuel Macron has effectively lost control of his government and his succession - John Lichfield looks at where it all went wrong for the young man once touted as the future for France.
OPINION: Bolloré's influence on French cinema, TV and media is dangerous
The story of the French film producers, the Breton billionaire and the blacklist is complicated but - argues John Lichfield - should be taken seriously as a genuine danger to France's culture.
OPINION: The French far-right have a runaway poll lead - but may yet lose the 2027 election
In the final part of his mini series on the forthcoming French presidential elections, John Lichfield looks at the chances of the Far Right. Despite their runaway lead in polling for Round One, they could yet lose in the second round of the election in 2027.
OPINION: Remains of Macron's centrists still have the best chance of beating the far-right
In the latest in his series of profiles on candidates for the 2027 French presidential election, John Lichfield looks at whether the Centre can unite and, united, can beat the far right.
OPINION: A second French presidency for François Hollande? Really?
French history is littered with spectacular comebacks, from the Emperor Napoleon to Charles de Gaulle to Edith Piaf, writes John Lichfield. Could François Hollande, the cuddliest of politicians but tougher than he seems, return to the Elysée Palace nine years after his presidency fizzled into insignificance?
OPINION: France's traditional conservatives will not stop the Far Right in 2027
France's Les Républicains party - the conservative successors to Charles De Gaulle, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy - has picked its candidate for the 2027 presidential election. The choice speaks volumes, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: Orban's demise is a blow for French far right, but not a fatal one
The Hungarian people have decisively rejected authoritarian leader Viktor Orban and France's Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella seem worried - so is this the beginning of an anti-populist wave in Europe? If only politics was so simple, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: Le Pen pushes to cast aside 'far right' label as France redraws political map
France is being redrawn before our eyes - writes John Lichfield - the old political maps of Left-Right-Centre no longer make sense. Politicians are trying to re-invent them.
OPINION: Primaries cannot save France from a Trumpian future
As attention in France shifts to the 2027 presidential elections, John Lichfield looks at how the candidates will be be narrowed down and whether France is indeed 'sleepwalking into a Far-Right presidency'.
OPINION: For foreigners in France, each election brings a creeping sense of dread
The Local France's editor Emma Pearson explains why foreigners in France face an anxious year ahead as the presidential election looms large and the threat from the xenophobic far right grows ever stronger.
OPINION: Local elections show French far right is beatable - but not by this squabbling opposition
This was a Mr Potato Head election - writes John Lichfield - pick different features of the municipal results on Sunday and you can give France the face of your choosing.
OPINION: Macron is having a 'good war', but there is no good end to the Iran disaster
We are in dire straits, writes John Lichfield. Donald Trump wants allies like France, and even rivals like China, to pull his chestnuts out of the boiling oil in the Straits of Hormuz.
OPINION: Local elections will show if France still has the will to resist the far-right
As France prepares for key local elections, John Lichfield looks at what the results can tell us about the strength of the 'republican front', the pact that voters can make to keep out the far right.
OPINION: Why Macron will not 'do a Chirac' over this Gulf war
As the US launches strikes against Iran, Emmanuel Macron's reaction has been very different to his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who refused to join the British and American invasion of Iraq in 2003 - John Lichfield examines why.
OPINION: The death of Quentin Deranque will tilt France's elections
Two weeks after the death of Far Right activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon, John Lichfield looks at the political fallout of the death of this previously unknown figure, and how it will affect France's upcoming elections.