France’s President Emmanuel Macron faced growing pressure on Tuesday to resign or hold a snap parliamentary election to end political chaos that has forced the resignation of five prime ministers in less than two years.

The 47-year-old centrist president has repeatedly said he will see out his second term, which ends in 2027.

But resignation calls, long confined to the fringes, have entered the mainstream during one of the worst political crises since the 1958 creation of the Fifth Republic, France’s current system of government.

On Tuesday, as Macron’s outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu held last-ditch talks to form a new government, his first premier in 2017, Edouard Philippe, said it was time for a new president to break the deadlock.

Speaking to RTL radio, Philippe said Macron should be “leaving in an orderly manner” to allow a way out of the crisis.

‘It’s a mess’

Political turmoil in the euro zone’s second largest economy was front page news across Europe at a time when US President Donald Trump is demanding the continent do more to shore up its own defenses and aid Ukraine.

Markets have taken fright, with investors keeping a close eye on France’s ability to cut a yawning budget deficit. French stocks fell 1.4% on Monday and the risk premium on French government bond yields rose to a nine-month high on the crisis.

“It’s a mess. It makes you sad,” said Brigitte Gries, a 70-year-old pensioner in Paris, summing up public consternation.

“We’re becoming a bit of a laughing stock around the world right now,” added taxi driver Soufiane Mansour in the southern city of Montpellier. “We’re a bit of a clown around the world and in Europe, unfortunately.”

‘Allies round on Macron’

Philippe, whom polls show to be the best-placed candidate to lead the political centre in a succession battle, was the second of Macron’s former prime ministers to distance themselves from him in as many days.

Gabriel Attal, another erstwhile Macron loyalist, was blunt in his criticism. He was prime minister for a few months last year before Macron called a snap vote that delivered a hung parliament with three ideologically opposed blocs.

“Like many French people, I no longer understand the president’s decisions,” he said on TF1 TV, after Macron asked Lecornu, who had just tendered his resignation, to go back to opponents for last-gasp talks.

Lecornu, whose 14-hour-old administration was the shortest in modern French history, was given two days to find consensus.

Attal, however, ruled out calling for Macron to resign, someone who took part in a meeting of his parliamentary group said.

‘Far-right snubs talks’

Meanwhile, Lecornu held talks with leaders of Macron’s centrist alliance and conservatives, in which they agreed that finding a deal on next year’s budget was a priority.

He will need others, including the Socialists, on board to have the numbers needed to form a majority in the National Assembly— not least to pass a budget for next year.

Lecornu now plans to talk with the opposition in the afternoon and on Wednesday morning, but the far-right National Rally said they saw no point in those talks and would skip them.

Party chiefs Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen instead “reiterate their call for the dissolution of the National Assembly,” the RN said.

The RN tops opinion polls, but those surveys show a repeat election would likely produce another divided parliament, with no group holding a majority.

Palestinians on Tuesday marked two years since Israel’s devastating war on Gaza began, a conflict that has left an indelible scar on the enclave and its people.

The grim anniversary comes as Israeli bombardment continues across the Strip, compounding what the United Nations has repeatedly described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Since October 7, 2023 — when Hamas launched its attack on Israel, triggering a full-scale war — Gaza has endured relentless air strikes, ground assaults, and a suffocating blockade.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, while tens of thousands more remain missing beneath the rubble of flattened neighbourhoods.

The two-year onslaught has also rendered the majority of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents homeless, forcing families into overcrowded makeshift shelters and tent camps amid severe shortages of food, water, and medicine.

A famine officially declared on August 22 this year has deepened Gaza’s suffering.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a global measure of hunger — reported that over half a million Palestinians are on the brink of starvation, with many surviving on animal feed and contaminated water. Aid convoys, when allowed to enter, barely meet a fraction of the needs.

Despite the staggering toll, Israeli strikes have not ceased, with explosions continuing to rock parts of Gaza even as mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States push for a ceasefire.

The anniversary also follows the recent civilian initiative known as the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international effort to break the Israeli siege on Gaza.

All participating boats were intercepted by the Israeli navy, and activists aboard were arrested, sparking widespread protests across Europe and other countries condemning Israel’s actions.

Delegations from Israel and Hamas are currently holding indirect talks in Egypt, following a US-backed proposal to end the war and facilitate a prisoner exchange.

Here are the highlights of the devastation brought by the Israeli offensive to Gaza:

Satellite images show destruction in Gaza

Lives shattered, hopes endure

An Indian lawyer hurled a shoe at Chief Justice BR Gavai during court proceedings in Delhi on Monday, following remarks the judge reportedly made about Hinduism.

According to Indian media reports and witnesses present in the courtroom, the shoe narrowly missed Chief Justice Gavai and another justice before falling behind them. The incident has been described as both a serious breach of courtroom security and a grave act of public disrespect.

The lawyer, identified as Rakesh Kishore, was immediately restrained by security officials. 

“We will not tolerate any insult to Sanatan Dharma,” the attacker, whose name was not given in reports on the incident, shouted as he was being led out, referring to another name for Hinduism, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.

An association of Supreme Court lawyers condemned Monday’s incident and demanded that the court initiate proceedings against the lawyer involved.

“This behaviour is antithetical to the dignity of the legal profession and contrary to the constitutional values of decorum, discipline, and institutional integrity,” the Supreme Court Advocates-on-record Association said in a statement.

India’s Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta said the attack was a result of misinformation on social media.

“I have personally seen Chief Justice visiting religious places of all religions with full reverence,” Mehta told Reuters in a text message

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the shoe attack “utterly condemnable”, joining a chorus of criticism from across the political spectrum. Modi spoke to Justice Gavai and said the attack had angered every Indian, PTI reports. “There is no place for such reprehensible acts in our society,” the PM said.

Throwing a shoe at someone in public is seen as an act of disrespect and humiliation in India and many other countries.

— With additional input from Reuters