France remains at a standstill again over the uncertainty of a new prime minister as Gabriel Attal intends to step down in the coming days and possible candidate Huguette Bello faced opposition from the Socialists and withdrew from the race.
Outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is expected to tender his resignation to Macron in the coming days, but the president may ask Attal to stay on as acting prime minister while Paris hosts the Olympics, which begin on 26 July. Therefore, Emmanuel Macron must appoint a prime minister who must be able to pass a vote of no confidence in parliament.
The problem has grown sufficiently complex with the recent elections, in which an alliance of Socialists, Communists, Greens and the extreme left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI) holds the most seats in the National Assembly after the election, but with 193 seats in the 577-seat lower house, they are well short of a majority, AFP reported.
New Popular Front (NFP) claims the outcome gives them the power to present their own candidate for prime minister to President Macron, whose allies lagged behind in the vote. Moreover, Macron also ruled out the participation in government of both the LFI, the biggest player in the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, and the far-right RN in any new coalition. The former came second with 164 seats in the election, while the far-right Rassemblement Nationale (RN) came third with 143 seats.
Huguette Bello, 73, a former communist MP, has emerged as a possible candidate. Bello quickly won the support of the LFI, the Communists and the Greens. However, she failed to get the centre-left Socialists on their side. Bello said she withdrew because there was no consensus on her candidacy among all members of the NFP, especially the Socialists.
