Eurotopics.net

The victory of the leftist Nouveau Front Populaire alliance in the second round of the French snap election has left the country facing a challenging coalition-building phase. The NFP (180 seats) only narrowly beat the Macron camp Ensemble (163 seats) and the right-wing populist RN (143), with 289 seats needed to secure an absolute majority. For this as well as other reasons the commentaries reflect major doubts as well as euphoria.

After trips to Ukraine and Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister and current EU Council President Viktor Orbán has now visited China. During the tour, which he described as "Peace Mission 3.0", Orbán met with Chinese head of state Xi Jinping. Xi spoke out in favour of a ceasefire in Ukraine and subsequent negotiations. Commentators look at why Orbán's approach is ruffling feathers.

Masoud Pezeshkian, who is widely seen as a moderate reformer, has been elected as Iran's new president. Before entering politics Pezeshkian was a doctor and heart surgeon, and then health minister under former president Mohammad Khatami between 2001 and 2005. Both politicians stand for the desire for reform and improved relations with the West. Nevertheless, Europe's press sees little hope of real change.