At what point does the French president have to hand over the reins of power? It's business as usual on this last Thursday in August at the Élysée Palace for Emmanuel Macron, meeting the new British prime minister before jetting off to Serbia for an official visit. But it’s been nearly two months since his surprise gamble on snap elections backfired and he’s yet to name a new prime minister. 

It's not easy to choose a head of government when parliament is now split three ways between the far right, a coalition of the left and those in between. In fact, it is unprecedented. In a nation that has not known coalition building since Charles de Gaulle changed the constitution back in 1958, how to pass an October budget through a splintered house?

Through it all, the French still went on summer vacation, the trains still ferried fans to the Olympics and Paralympics and parents and teachers still got ready for next week's first day back at school. But how long can the state of limbo last? When does France start to seem rudderless to the rest of Europe and when does it start to matter?

Produced by François Picard, Andrew Hilliar, Ilayda Habip, Meiqi An