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France’s left-wing parties told Emmanuel Macron on Friday (August 23) that they want to form the next government, with the French president launching consultations on who will be prime minister, nearly seven weeks after an inconclusive parliamentary election.
Macron, who has not spoken publicly since the meeting with leftist parties and has so far ignored their demands, noted that although his new Popular Front coalition came in first place in elections in early July, it was far from an outright majority.
“We told him that the government should be formed by the political force that emerged first (in the election), the New Popular Front,” Lucie Castex, a little-known 37-year-old senior civil servant chosen by the left as candidate for prime minister, said after meeting Macron.
After weeks of acrimonious debate between rival political camps, left-wing leaders sounded slightly more optimistic and said Macron recognised the need for change – although what that would entail remained to be seen.
Macron is due to meet centrists and conservatives later on Friday and the far right on Monday, with left-wing leaders saying they expect answers soon afterwards.
Whoever Macron appoints as French president will face a daunting task as France faces pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit, with parliament approving the 2025 budget among many challenges.
Who will become prime minister – and whether they can get a hung parliament to support any reforms – remains an open question, with no signs yet of any broader coalition being able to command a stable majority.
Macron took the risk of holding early parliamentary elections, but the result backfired as the centrist coalition he led lost dozens of seats in the election and ended up with a hung parliament.
He called on leaders to reach a deal across party lines to form a government with an absolute majority. A source close to Macron said earlier this month that he believes the balance of power lies more in the centre or centre-right.
Macron has a history of appointing unexpected prime ministers. The French constitution says he is free to appoint whomever he wants – but they must be able to withstand a no-confidence vote from the opposition.
Some possible candidates include conservative regional president Xavier Bertrand and former Socialist Prime Minister Bernard Kazevoye, according to sources. Karim Bouamraneh, the Socialist mayor of a poor suburb of Paris, was recently mentioned in French media as another possible candidate.
Read more by Euractiv
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