John Lichfield
A veteran foreign editor and France correspondent, John is a regular columnist for The Local and one of the foremost experts on France writing in English.
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: 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.
OPINION: Macron's offer to 'extend' the French nuclear umbrella to Europe is fraught with problems
Sharing umbrellas is never easy. France has offered to 'extend' its nuclear umbrella to other European countries without actually 'sharing' it. How can that work, asks John Lichfield.
OPINION: Far-right Bardella is beatable in 2027, but no one looks capable of it
Marine Le Pen won't be the next president of France, but could her protégé Jordan Bardella win next year's race? Bardella has flaws, writes John Lichfield, but the problem is no one has yet emerged who looks capable of beating him.
OPINION: TV anchor's child sex conviction reveals hypocrisy of French right-wingers
Hypocrisy knows no political boundaries - writes John Lichfield - it can occur on the Left, on the Right and in the Centre. France is currently witnessing a particularly extreme and puzzling case of hypocrisy on the moralising, hard Right.
OPINION: PM has steadied France, but sacrificed any hope of cutting the deficit
Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has, through compromise and concession got his budget passed. John Lichfield says that Lecornu will likely remain prime minister until spring 2027 - but while he has steadied the ship, he has sacrificed all hope of tackling France's ballooning deficit.
OPINION: This is a 1938 moment for Europe, but the war will be a trade war
European leaders sending their troops to Greenland has - writes political columnist John Lichfield - called Donald Trump's bluff when it comes to military conflict. Instead the continent faces the prospect of a long and brutal trade war.
OPINION: French farmers are suffering from decades of government hypocrisy
French farmers benefit from huge EU subsidies and strong government support - so why are so many of them struggling, deep in debt and angry, asks John Lichfield.
ANALYSIS: Emmanuel Macron - a French 'Nero' or misunderstood visionary?
As Emmanuel Macron enters the last full year of his presidency, John Lichfield looks at the career of the man who promised so much, but seems doomed to end his mandate in failure. Where did it all go wrong for Macron, and for France?
OPINION: 2026 will be a crucial year for France, but its politics remain paralysed
French politics faces a year of frantic immobility before a 2027 presidential election which could change everything, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: French cattle cull protesters risk becoming the new anti-vaxxers
As roadblocks continue, John Lichfield argues that the Lumpy Skin Disease dispute is more than just another French farmer protest - it is a tragedy for small farmers, and another worrying step into anti-science politics.
OPINION: France's muddled half-budget counts as a big win for the embattled PM
After a knife-edge vote in parliament, France now has the first half of its 2026 budget. Despite the budget itself being muddled and robbing Peter to pay Paul, it still counts as a victory for prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, writes John Lichfield.
OPINION: French budget showdown inches towards the climax
After weeks of torturous debate, the parliamentary journey of France's 2026 budget is approaching the moment of truth, writes John Lichfield. Will Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's grand experiment succeed?
OPINION: The French far-right will do badly in local elections, it doesn't mean they can't win in 2027
The race is hotting up for next year's local elections, which the parties are fighting with one eye on the presidential poll in 2027. But John Lichfield warns against trying to read too much into the votes for local mayors in 2026.
OPINION: A far-right President Bardella of France? It could happen
Jordan Bardella is the runaway leader in the polls for the 2027 French presidential election - John Lichfield examines whether he would be a stronger candidate than Marine Le Pen and whether either of them can win, becoming France's first far-right president of the post-war era.
OPINION: France's embattled PM has won some unlikely victories and may yet get a deal
As the bitter, complicated and fractious debates over the Budget continue in the French parliament, John Lichfield does some political maths and calculates the likelihood of prime minister Sébastien Lecornu getting a deal.
OPINION: Louvre jewel theft shows that France is simply too rich
As politicians decry the 'national humiliation' of the theft of the crown jewels from the Louvre, John Lichfield ponders whether France has simply too many treasures to protect them all properly.