In a traditional New Year's Eve address, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that his decision to call early parliamentary elections in June had brought more political instability to France rather than "solutions for the French people" – acknowledging that the high-stakes move had led to months of political deadlock.
The speech caps a tumultuous 2024 for Macron, who shocked the nation in June by unilaterally calling snap elections after the far right National Rally trounced his centrist bloc in the European polls.
