French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out selecting a member of the far-left New Popular Front (NFP) as his next prime minister, despite having partnered with the leftist bloc in recent elections. The president met with leaders from various factions within the National Assembly and categorically dismissed forming a new government with the NFP.
During last month’s snap legislative elections, Macron partnered with the far-left coalition to block the populist National Rally of Marine Le Pen from gaining power. However, this move created a political stalemate in the country, as the New Popular Front holds only 180 seats out of the 577 seat parliament, making any government based around the party inherently unstable.
On Monday, Macron met with Le Pen and her deputy at the presidential Elysee Palace. Following the meeting, Le Pen vowed that her party would put forward a motion of no confidence in any government formed with the NFP. The leftist New Popular Front had attempted to force Macron into selecting Lucie Castets, a socialist economist and former deep state bureaucrat, who has never been elected to any post, as the country’s next prime minister. Former presidential candidate and leader of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party — a member of the NFP — Jean-Luc Mélenchon had threatened to impeach Macron if he refused to install Castets or another socialist.
A press release from Macron’s office stated that any government based only on the program and parties proposed by the alliance bringing together the most deputies, the New Popular Front, would be immediately censored by all of the other groups represented in the National Assembly. This would result in a majority against the NFP, effectively preventing it from acting.
While Macron urged for “all political leaders to rise to the occasion by demonstrating a spirit of responsibility,” the political stalemate he finds himself in is largely a creation of his own actions. After suffering a humiliating defeat in the European Parliament elections in June to Le Pen’s National Rally, Macron called for snap legislative elections to be held in June. During the first round of voting, Le Pen’s party once again came out on top and was poised for a historic victory and potential governing majority in the National Assembly.
To prevent this outcome, Macron made a last-minute deal with the far-left New Popular Front to engage in strategic voting, with NFP or Macronists standing down in races depending on which candidate had the best chance to beat the Le Pen candidate. Although the populist National Rally won the most votes of any party, the political gamesmanship from Macron prevailed, not only preventing the Le Pen party from a majority but relegating it to the third most seats in the Assembly.
However, the move also left the country without a clear victor in the elections. This has meant that France, which is facing many pressing problems, including a looming debt crisis, has effectively not had a government for over a month, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal merely staying on in a caretaker role with no power to pass new legislation.