This evening, as dinner preparations across France were interrupted by the fall of yet another Prime Minister — François Bayrou, toppled in a vote of no confidence — I found myself reaching not for the news feed, but for poetry.
In 1920, William Butler Yeats wrote words that feel uncannily fresh today:
“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
Five Prime Ministers in five years. The center cannot hold. When Article 49 of the French Constitution is invoked, governments can rise and fall with breathtaking speed. The Prime Minister is not invested by Parliament but rather appointed by the President. President grants. Parliament removes. What remains constant however is the uncertainty, the difficulty of maintaining stable and robust institutions that last beyond a single cycle of leadership.
And yet, this is not just about politics. In my work with industrial organizations, I see the same fragility: undocumented processes, poor “constitutional frameworks” for governance & leadership, critical systems dependent on one or two veterans, successors forced to inherit chaos rather than clarity.
That’s why I built Legacy Lift. Because whether it’s a nation or a factory, the principle is the same:
Recover what still works before it is lost.
Rebuild trust and knowledge across generations.
Leave behind a foundation your successors will thank you for.
France today offers us a reminder: succession without preparation is collapse waiting to happen.
If you’re responsible for an organization, large or small, the question is the same:
➡️ Will the legacy you leave be one of disorder… or of continuity?
