Leaders from the left-wing bloc that secured the most votes in France’s legislative election and the runner-up centrists are in a frantic race to form a viable government, lawmakers and other sources told Reuters.
The surprising outcome of the July 7 snap election has thrown France into uncertainty just before the Paris Olympics, with no clear path to a stable government capable of passing legislation in a fragmented parliament.
France, a key NATO ally and the eurozone’s second-largest economy, seems destined for prolonged negotiations, which Moody’s has warned could negatively impact the country’s credit rating.
The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) has been holding a series of talks, stating its intention to govern according to its tax-and-spend program and claiming it just needs some time to organize. The NFP aims to finalize a deal by the end of this week or early next week.
“There are countries that have a culture of this (forming a government without a majority) and take six months to do it,” said Boris Vallaud, a Socialist lawmaker mentioned as a potential prime minister. “We are working on finding ways and means to change the lives of French people… Is it simple? No. Is it necessary? Yes.”
However, centrists loyal to President Emmanuel Macron are asserting their role, as the left lacks a majority. Political sources said centrists are actively contacting lawmakers from the mainstream left to create a government base. “We are reaching out to people across the board,” one centrist lawmaker said.
One thing is clear: centrists do not want the hardline leftist La France Insoumise (LFI, or France Unbowed) party in any governing deal but are open to alliances with more moderate left-wingers within the NFP.
After a meeting of the centrist group, Renaissance lawmaker Pierre Cazeneuve told Reuters: “We have reaffirmed our red lines: No deal with France Unbowed and no deal with the (far right) National Rally (RN).”
The RN placed third in the runoff election, defying opinion polls that had predicted a far-right victory.
Within the NFP, a battle is ongoing between factions to claim the largest number of MPs and thereby assert leadership of the bloc. Currently, France Unbowed claims an edge of about 10 MPs, but unlike the LFI, the more moderate Socialists are more likely to convince independent leftists to join them.
Lawmakers have until parliament’s first post-election session on July 18 to decide which group they will join.
Meanwhile, NFP members have so far rejected overtures from centrists, refusing to break up their loose alliance.
Some on the left argue that the centrist bloc should break up, with some of its members supporting the NFP. “To speak plainly, I’m thinking about left-leaning Macronists who might be open to joining us. We’d be open to that,” said Johanna Rolland, the Socialist mayor of Nantes, on France 2 television.
Macron, whose term ends in 2027, seems unlikely to drive policy again, having been beaten by the far-right RN in last month’s European election and by the left in the snap legislative election he called against the will of some of his supporters, including Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Macron has asked Attal to remain as prime minister temporarily to provide some stability.
Within the NFP camp, there is no consensus on who should replace Attal. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the firebrand leader of France Unbowed, and other senior LFI members insist the next premier should be from their party, the largest in the NFP. However, leaders from other NFP parties find Mélenchon too divisive and have not agreed that the head of government should come from France Unbowed.
Several other names have been circulating frequently, including Socialist leader Olivier Faure, Raphael Glucksmann, who led France’s left-wing ticket in the European elections, and Green leader Marine Tondelier.
Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor’s office has begun a preliminary inquiry into allegations of illegal financing of far-right RN leader Marine Le Pen’s campaign for the 2022 presidential race, which she lost to Macron. Le Pen and her party have previously denied any wrongdoing related to campaign financing.
