As extreme nationalist forces coalesce in the European parliament, a bolder response is needed

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” In an age of political upheaval in liberal democracies, the poetic imagination of William Butler Yeats has haunted politicians worried about a lurch to extremes. Following last month’s European elections, which saw a surge in support for the far right, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, was the latest to invoke Yeats’ famous line in The Second Coming. But she did so with a twist, bullishly noting : “There remains a majority in the centre for a strong Europe and that is crucial for stability. In other words, the centre is holding.”

Holding maybe, but certainly not thriving. On core themes, Ms von der Leyen – and mainstream European politicians more generally – have adopted a defensive crouch, allowing authoritarian nationalists such as Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, to dictate the agenda. There have been U-turns and obfuscations on net zero targets, and deals with dubious regimes to keep asylum seekers out of Europe.

The new national assembly meets this week, but what will happen if the three almost equal political blocs cannot agree on a prime minister?

One week after a snap general election that nobody won, and two weeks before it welcomes the world for the Olympic Games, France is still without a new prime minister or government and in political chaos.

As the French celebrate Bastille Day, the national 14 July holiday, the squabbling and stalemate between the three groupings that took the most seats but failed to secure a parliamentary majority continued with warnings that it could be two months before a solution is found.

Marine Le Pen’s RN and Hungary’s Fidesz have joined forces. But Europe’s far right is fractured and Orbán isolated

“Victory in defeat, there is none higher,” wrote Robert A Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land, about unsung heroes who never give up. Although the far right likes to portray itself as unsung heroes, it has mostly found defeat with a series of pyrrhic victories in recent weeks, unable to turn record electoral support in the EU, France and the UK into concrete political power.

This was perhaps best exemplified by Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen’s hand-picked “golden boy”, portrayed as almost infallible in much of the media. He led National Rally ( Rassemblement National , or RN) to new highs in the 9 June European elections ( eight percentage points up on the party’s 2019 performance) and France (14.5 percentage points up on the party’s showing in the first round of legislative elections in 2022). And yet, on Monday, Bardella was not announced as the new prime minister of France, but as the president of Viktor Orbán’s new Patriots for Europe (PfE), one of three rival far-right groups in the European parliament. The others are the longstanding European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), dominated by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FdI), and a smaller, more extreme group called Europe of Sovereign Nations , launched on Wednesday by the German far-right Alternative for Germany ( Alternative für Deutschland , or AfD).

Sunday’s surprising election result prompted an international sigh of relief, but Emmanuel Macron’s gamble has weakened him and Europe

It was a good week for Europe. It was a bad week for Europe. Good because Britain now has a strong, stable centrist government keen to reset relations with the EU, and voters in France rallied to keep the hard-right National Rally (RN) out of power. Bad because France looks set for a period of weak, unstable, divided government that will hamper the whole EU. This in a crucial year for our continent, with Vladimir Putin still pummelling Ukraine and Donald Trump again likely to become president of the US, unless Joe Biden steps aside as he should.

Let’s start with the good news, before getting depressed again. Britain has a responsible, pragmatic government of the centre-left, elected for up to five years. It’s led by a former human rights lawyer determined to defend the rule of law at home and internationally; embraces a judicious mix of market economy, state intervention and social justice; strongly supports Ukraine and is committed to pursuing good relations with other European countries. In fact, it’s a much better match to the values proclaimed in article 2 of the Treaty on European Union than the government of the EU member state Hungary, whose anti-liberal nationalist leader, Viktor Orbán, has been sitting down with Putin in Moscow to see how they can compel Ukraine to capitulate in the name of “peace”.

Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and Guardian columnist. He was awarded the Charlemagne prize for services to European unity in 2017, the year before Emmanuel Macron

Surprise result ‘restores hope’ but politicians urged to heed warning after far-right National Rally falls short

Against the backdrop of Lyon’s emblematic Bartholdi fountain , much of which was sculpted by the artist behind New York’s Statue of Liberty, the same word was on seemingly everyone’s lips on Monday after the French election result: soulagement, or relief.

“It’s great that the far right didn’t win,” said Stéphane, 47. But he, like everyone else the Guardian spoke to, was swift to add a caveat given the political uncertainty that now looms over the nation. “It’s going to be a mess. They’re not going to agree on a lot of things.”

Progressive and centrist voters joined forces to keep Marine Le Pen’s party at bay. But last-ditch resistance is not a long-term strategy

Confronted with its biggest test since the second world war, France’s republican front magnificently, defiantly held the line. More than 200 candidates from the left and centre withdrew from Sunday’s second round of legislative elections to allow better-placed rivals a free run against Marine Le Pen’s radical right. Their sacrifice was rewarded beyond anyone’s expectations. Having won the first round with a vote share that suggested an absolute majority was within reach, Ms Le Pen’s National Rally party (RN) slumped to third place.

In an era when the rise of rightwing nationalism has coincided with declining trust in mainstream politics, this is an outcome to celebrate. Emmanuel Macron’s reckless election allowed RN to substantially bolster its number of MPs. But a high turnout across France led to millions of voters burying very real differences to join forces against it. They did so in order to see off a party whose xenophobic core is at odds with republican values of equality and inclusion. The RN’s plans to bar dual nationals from sensitive state jobs proved to be a political liability, not an asset. So did an array of candidates whose racist views and pro‑Putin sympathies, when uncovered on social media, inspired widespread revulsion.

The group, styled Patriots for Europe, becomes the third-largest force and largest-ever far-right bloc assembly

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen has joined forces with the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in a new far-right alliance in the European parliament.

The group, styled Patriots for Europe, becomes the third-largest force in the European parliament and the largest-ever far-right bloc in the history of the assembly.

France may rediscover a taste for moderate social democracy – and find out that compromise is not a dirty word

France has dodged a bullet. We have no idea how the country will be governed in the coming months with a hung parliament without any natural majority. But at least we know who won’t be in government for now, and that is an immense relief for millions of voters.

If the first round of this snap parliamentary election was a referendum against liberal centrist President Emmanuel Macron, the second round was a referendum against Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), just when power appeared within the grasp of the far-right party.

Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre