French President Emmanuel Macron said after consultations with the leadership of political parties and parliamentary factions that he sees no possibility of forming a future government led by the left-wing New Popular Front coalition (NFP), French media reported.
The French president explained his position by the need to preserve “institutional stability” and scheduled a second round of consultations with party leaders and prominent political figures for Tuesday.
Amid inter-party controversies over the nomination of a prime minister and the composition of the new government, the head of state called on the leadership of political parties to show a “spirit of responsibility.”
Macron’s statement indicates that there is no end in sight to the country’s political crisis after he announced a shock snap election that resulted in an unwieldy “hung” parliament. No single faction won a majority in the snap elections held this summer. Votes were split equally between the New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist bloc and National Rally.
The NFP won more votes than any other party and argues that its candidate, civil servant Lucie Castets, should be appointed prime minister.
On Friday, Castets told Macron that the left has the right to form the next government. The statement from the Elysee Palace came after the New Popular Front said it would not take part in any new consultations unless the nomination of Castet was in question.
National Rally promises to block left-wing candidacies
Leaders of France’s National Rally earlier on Monday said their party would block any New Popular Front candidate for prime minister, narrowing Macron’s options for breaking the deadlock.
Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, the political team leading the Rassemblement Nationale, met Macron on Monday. After the hour-long meeting, Bardella said the NFP posed a “danger” to the country. He said:
The New Popular Front in its programme, in its movements, as well as the personalities who embody it represents a danger to public order, civil peace and obviously for the economic life of the country. We intend to protect the country from a government that would fracture French society.
It is not yet clear who Macron will turn to. Ultimately, the candidate with the broadest possible outlook must be approved by lawmakers, and if they say no, Macron will have to go back to the drawing board.
Macron has so far ignored the candidacy of the NFP, and a source close to him said he believes the balance of power lies more in the centre or centre-right.
Among the possible candidates Macron is considering are conservative regional president Xavier Bertrand and former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the sources said. French media recently mentioned Karim Bouamran, the Socialist mayor of a poor Paris suburb, as another possible name.
France Unbowed warns of impeachment
Meanwhile, the head of the coalition’s constituent left-wing party “France Unbowed” (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon commented on X:
The President of the Republic has just created an extremely serious situation. The popular and political response must be swift and decisive. A motion of impeachment will be put forward. When the time comes, the right-wing government will be censured. But pro-democracy organisations must come forward with a united response.
Following the defeat of the president’s social-liberal Renaissance party in the June 9 European Parliament elections, with a palpable loss to the nationalist Rassemblement Nationale, Macron announced the same day that he would dissolve the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, and called early legislative elections.
After a run-off on July 7, the NFP, a coalition of left-wing parties, won a majority of seats in the National Assembly.
