France: awaiting a new government…

After playing for time and waiting for the Olympic Games and the summer holidays to pass, the French President finds himself caught in his own trap. The early parliamentary elections he himself called on 7 July, in which the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance came out on top ahead of the Rassemblement National, have further weakened the presidential camp.

In this rare situation, constitutional logic dictates that the President of the Republic should appoint a Prime Minister capable of offering him a coalition majority. During his recent consultations with the various parties and other figures on the political landscape, however, Emmanuel Macron rejected the candidacy of Lucie Castets, proposed by the NFP. He maintains that a left-wing government, even without a minister from La France Insoumise as proposed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon as a challenge, would be immediately censured by a hostile National Assembly. As for the other parties, with the 2027 presidential elections approaching, they are reluctant to compromise themselves in an alliance with the President. Emmanuel Macron’s insistence on maintaining control has led the country down a dangerous and unprecedented path: that of total gridlock.

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