The left-wing alliance in France on Friday expressed its readiness to “form coalitions” to establish a government during the first meeting held by President Emmanuel Macron with the country’s major political forces.
Macron received at the Élysée Palace the New Popular Front, a temporary alliance consisting of leftist forces from radical leftists, socialists, environmentalists, and communists, which surprised many by securing 193 seats, far from the absolute majority of 289 seats, especially the Front’s candidate for Prime Minister, Lucie Castel.
Castel, a senior public sector official who was unknown until a few weeks ago, said that the head of state is “clear” about the “desire to change political direction.”
She added, “Enough time has been wasted,” emphasizing “the importance of respecting the election results and pulling the country out of the paralysis it is experiencing.” She stated that her allies are “ready” to look for “compromises in the absence of an absolute majority.”
She said, “It seems the tendency remains for the President to form his own government.”
Gabriel Attal’s resigned government, tasked with managing the current affairs of the country, has been in place for 38 days, an unprecedented duration since the end of World War II, with major budgetary deadlines approaching.
The French president is facing objections even from within his camp, ever since he made the almost solitary decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call for early elections, following disastrous results for his camp in the European parliamentary elections.
Macron was supposed to have lunch with officials from his camp, which includes 166 deputies, and then meet with the Republican right before ending his day with meetings of two smaller formations.
He will hold new discussions on Monday with the far-right composed of the National Rally and its allies (142 deputies), who are the only ones ruling out participation in a government coalition and preparing for upcoming challenges, particularly the presidential elections in 2027.
Manuel Bompard, coordinator of “La France Insoumise” (Radical Left), said the President “reminded us simultaneously that he must act as a judge in his constitutional role, but we have some impression that he had a tendency to be the one who chooses.”
For her part, Marine Tondelier, the leader of the Green Party, said, “It is a positive signal” that the head of state “acknowledged that we will have to change course,” confirming that the Popular Front forms a “strong and solid block.”
The Élysée explained on Thursday that these consultations aim to “determine the conditions” for these political forces to form a “broad majority,” asserting that the President is the “guarantor of institutions.”
The same source added that “stability” means “the government’s ability to avoid falling to the first vote of no confidence against it.”
Criticism of the President resumed as soon as the Olympic Games truce ended.
Until Thursday evening, appointing Lucie Castel was ruled out. The presidential camp, from the right to the far-right, was threatening a vote of no confidence against any government that included ministers from the radical left.
The Communist Party confirmed that Emmanuel Macron “acknowledged that all political forces” that “participated in the Republican Front” against the far-right in the legislative elections “were legitimately entitled to govern completely,” referring to the withdrawals between the Popular Front and Macron’s supporters in the second round, which deprived the National Rally of the victory it was anticipating.
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