President Emmanuel Macron refused to resign the French prime minister and asked him on Monday to temporarily stay on as head of government after a chaotic election result threw the government into uncertainty.
Voters split the legislature down the left, center and far right, leaving no faction with even close to the majority needed to form a government. The results of Sunday’s vote raised the risk of paralysis for the European Union’s second-largest economy.
Macron gambled that his decision to call early elections would give France a moment of clarity, but the result showed the opposite, less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics, when the country is in the international spotlight.
The French stock market opened lower, but recovered quickly afterward, possibly because markets feared an outright victory for the far right or left.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had said he would stay in office if necessary, but offered his resignation on Monday morning. Macron, who appointed him only seven months ago, immediately asked him to stay on to ensure the country’s stability. Macron’s key political allies joined the meeting with Attal at the presidential palace, which ended after about 90 minutes.
On Sunday, Attal made clear his disagreement with Macron’s decision to call the surprise election. The results of two rounds of voting left no clear path to form a government for the left-wing coalition that came in first, Macron’s centrist alliance or the far right.
Newly elected and returning lawmakers met Monday in the National Assembly to begin serious negotiations on a new government. Macron himself leaves for a NATO summit in Washington midweek.
Negotiations over who should form a new government and who should head the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Finance, among others, are expected to be extremely difficult and protracted, as the political parties negotiating a deal are diametrically opposed and mutually despising.
“We are in a situation that is totally unprecedented,” said Jean-Didier Berger, a newly elected member of parliament from the conservative Republican Party.
Aurlien Rousseau, a newly elected MP from the New Popular Front and a former minister in Macron’s government, acknowledged that there are differences within the left-wing alliance over the formation of a government, but said the alliance could eventually reach an agreement.
We have to make compromises, but we also have to take the time to discuss this and know what we agree on and what we don’t agree on within the left, Rousseau said.
Another New Popular Front MP, Jrme Guedj of the French Socialist Party, said the left-wing alliance will not succumb to pressure to nominate a candidate for the next prime minister who could govern alongside Macron.
“This is a confusing moment and we are not going to create fear or unnecessary division at a time when we need to find the right path,” Guedj said.
Political deadlock could have far-reaching consequences for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. Yet at least one leader said the outcome was a relief.
In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kiev relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council, posted late Sunday night on X.
According to official results released Monday morning, all three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to govern the 577-seat National Assembly, the more powerful of France’s two legislative chambers.
The results showed just over 180 seats for the left-wing New Popular Front coalition, which came in first, to beat Macron’s centrist alliance, which won more than 160 seats. The far-right Rassemblement National of Marine Le Pen and her allies were restricted to third place, though their 140-plus seats were still well ahead of the party’s previous best performance of 89 seats in 2022.
Macron has three years left as president.
Instead of rallying behind Macron as he had hoped, millions of people saw the vote as an opportunity to vent their anger over inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances, including his style of governing.
Leaders of the New Popular Front immediately pressed Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and nominate a prime minister. The faction promises to roll back many of Macron’s key reforms, launch a costly government spending program and take a harder line on Israel over its war with Hamas. But it’s not clear, even among the left, who could lead the government without alienating key allies.
We need someone who can offer consensus, said Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, which has joined the left-wing coalition and was still working out on Monday how many seats it has won.
Macron warns that the left’s economic programme, which includes tens of billions of euros in government spending and is partly financed by taxes on wealth and increases for high-income earners, could be disastrous for France, which has already been criticised by EU watchdogs over its debt.
A parliament without a majority is uncharted territory for modern France. Many people reacted with a mixture of relief and concern.
What the pollsters and the press told us made me very nervous, so it’s a huge relief. Great expectations too, said Nadine Dupuis, a 60-year-old legal secretary in Paris. What’s going to happen? How are they going to run this country?
The political agreement between the left and the center to block the National Rally was largely successful. Many voters decided that keeping the far right out of power was more important than anything else, by supporting their opponents in the second round, even if they did not come from the political camp they normally support.
Disappointed, disappointed, said far-right supporter Luc Doumont, 66. Well, I’m glad we’ve made progress because we’ve done better in recent years.
Le Pen, who is expected to make a fourth attempt to become French president in 2027, said the election had laid the foundation for tomorrow’s victory.
Racism and anti-Semitism played a major role in the election campaign, along with Russian disinformation campaigns. In addition, more than 50 candidates reported being physically attacked, which is highly unusual for France.
Unlike other European countries that are more accustomed to coalition governments, France does not have a tradition of legislators from rival political camps coming together to form a majority. France is also more centralized than many other European countries, with many more decisions made in Paris.
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