France may be on the brink of civil war if the far-right or the far-left make significant gains in the summer's parliamentary elections.
This is what President Emmanuel Macron is warning.
A hard-pressed president was called upon to resign over the weekend as his own party is likely to suffer a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections.
On Monday, he warned the French people that the alternative to Macron's centre alternative is "civil war".
The far-right's answer to difficult questions creates uncertainty, divides the people "and leads to civil war", according to Macron. The far-left, on the other hand, is driving an anti-liberal policy that also leads to conflict, he says in the podcast "Génération do it yourself".
When we are tired of everything, when daily life is tough, we can be tempted by extremes that have quick solutions. But the solution will never lie in rejecting the other, he says.
Until 2027
The response from the far-right party National Rally (RN) came quickly. Party leader Jordan Bardella told AFP to media company M6:
The President of the Republic should not speak like that. I want to restore security for the entire French people.
The call for Macron to resign came from Marine Le Pen, RN's figurehead. Macron's response to the French people came quickly:
"You can count on me as your president until May 2027 (when the next election is held)", he wrote in an open letter where he also promised "changes".
Trust in the people
Macron, who unexpectedly called the election after the EU election in early June, defends his decision in the podcast, despite admittedly faltering figures in opinion polls.
I know that many are angry with me. But I did it because there is nothing greater and more just in a democracy than to trust the people.
On Tuesday, Bardella will meet Prime Minister Gabriel Attal – a party colleague of Macron's – in a TV debate.
