French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday he wouldn’t agree to appoint a prime minister from the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) list, which includes many far-left figures, despite it having won the most seats in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, in the dramatic snap elections held last month.
Macron, whose centrist list came in second in the snap elections he called in June, met on Monday with representatives of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party, who made it clear they would immediately initiate a vote of no confidence against any prime minister from the left to prevent them from forming a government.
Macron has been holding talks on the composition of the future government since the July elections, in which, against all poll predictions, the united leftist NFP list, which includes the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, came in first with 190 seats.
Macron's centrist list finished far behind with 160 seats, and Le Pen's National Rally, despite achieving the best result in its history, finished in third place with 140 seats — much less than expected, as polls had predicted it would come in first.
The surprising July results were largely due to the unification of the left, center and moderate right parties against Le Pen's National Rally: in the second and decisive round of elections, they withdrew the candidacies of various contenders who had little chance of winning, allowing voters to unite around an agreed-upon candidate in each district and prevent a far-right victory.
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National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen
(Photo: EPA/Cuenta Oficial Marine Le Pen en)
Despite the significant achievement of the leftist list, the results have effectively led to a political deadlock, where no bloc has a large enough majority to form a government without dramatic compromises that would allow the formation of a coalition.
Since the start of July, Macron has been engaged in intense negotiations with representatives of the various lists, primarily the NFP, but has yet to achieve a breakthrough.
Over the past month and a half, the NFP and especially Jean-Luc Melenchon's far-left LFI party, has claimed the right to form a government based on its first-place finish. However, centrist parties, not just the far-right, have made it clear they will bring down any such government in a no-confidence vote.
Macron himself, who previously labeled the LFI a "radical" movement and portrayed it as no less fanatical than Le Pen's National Rally, said that a government based solely on the left would be immediately toppled by all other factions in the National Assembly.
He added that "the institutional stability of our country therefore requires us not to choose this option." In his statement on Monday, he urged the Socialists, Greens and Communists within the left-wing alliance – implicitly referring to Melenchon's party – to "cooperate with other political forces."
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Left supporters celebrating after election results in Paris alongside Palestinain flags
(Photo: Alain JOCARD / AFP)
In his announcement later on Monday, following discussions with National Rally representatives, Macron explained he wouldn’t appoint a prime minister from the left-wing list because such a move would "threaten the stability of the institutions"
"My responsibility is that the country is not blocked nor weakened," he said. "I call on all political leaders to rise to the occasion and work together."
Macron declared he would resume talks on Tuesday to try to find a solution to the political deadlock. Later, a source close to him clarified the French president would avoid further talks not only with Melenchon's LFI but also with Le Pen's National Rally and center-right Republicans.
The NFP’s left-wing parties reacted disapprovingly to Macron's statement, urging their supporters to take to the streets in protest – and even calling for the president's impeachment.
The LFI labeled Macron's declaration as an "anti-democratic coup," and its leader, Melenchon, called for a "firm and strong response" from the public and politicians, including the start of impeachment proceedings against Macron.
Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel called for a "grand popular mobilization" and dismissed the possibility of new negotiations. Marine Tondelier, leader of the Green Party, declared that " the people must get rid of Macron for the good of democracy. He is chaos and instability."
Since the elections, outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a member of Macron's party, has continued to serve as interim prime minister. His tenure is already the longest in post-World War II France. The pressure on him is increasing as the government must finalize the 2025 budget in just over a month.