France has been looking for a new government for weeks. President Macron wants to find a solution through talks. But he has now clearly rejected the election winner.
French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out a government of the left-wing alliance Nouveau Front Populaire and wants to explore a path to a stable government through renewed talks. A government that relies solely on the program and the parties of the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) would be overthrown by a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly, according to a letter from the Élysée Palace. “My responsibility is to ensure that the country is neither blocked nor weakened,” said Macron. It is about institutional stability.
In the early parliamentary elections seven weeks ago, the left-wing alliance came in first place – ahead of Macron’s centrist forces and the right-wing nationalists around Marine Le Pen. No camp received an absolute majority in the National Assembly. Forming a government is therefore proving difficult. However, NFP has repeatedly stressed its desire to govern.
Talks must now continue
Macron plans to meet again with the parliamentary group and party leaders on Tuesday. His goal is to form a government that is as broad and stable as possible. Macron had already discussed this with representatives of the parties and parliament on Friday and Monday.
Macron called on those involved to take responsibility. The talks, especially with the center parties, had shown possible coalitions. The factions were ready to support a government led by a person who did not come from their own ranks. Macron and his center camp are envisaging a kind of grand coalition.
Left Party remains the bone of contention
In the letter, Macron continued: “The Socialist Party, the Greens and the Communists have not yet proposed ways of working with the other political forces. It is now up to them to do so.” Macron is explicitly addressing all parties in the left-wing alliance except for the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI). His camp had repeatedly ruled out working with the partly populist party in recent weeks.
The left-wing alliance, on the other hand, had repeatedly made it clear that it wanted to govern as a coalition. In the afternoon, it also announced that it was only available for talks with Macron about a government under its preferred candidate, Lucie Castets. After Macron’s announcement that he was ruling out a coalition government, the alliance expressed outrage. Green Party leader Marine Tondelier called Macron’s announcement a disgrace. The president was ignoring the election result. LFI parliamentary group leader Mathilde Panot even threatened Macron with impeachment proceedings.
It is unclear what will happen next in France. Since the next budget has to be passed in the autumn, there is not much time to form a government. The media have repeatedly reported that Macron may want to appoint a new prime minister before the opening of the Paralympic Games on Wednesday evening. The government of the resigned Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is currently still in office in a caretaker capacity.
Source: Stern
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