PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will hold talks with key political players in an effort to form a new government after surprise parliamentary elections Last month’s elections resulted in no party winning a majority in the National Assembly, the powerful lower house of the French parliament.
Macron’s office said meetings with leaders of France’s main political parties would take place on Friday and Monday at the Élysée presidential palace to “continue to move towards the broadest and most stable majority possible.”
“The appointment of a prime minister will be a follow-up to these consultations and their conclusions,” the statement said.
A left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, won about a third of the seats in the National Assembly, more than any other group, in last month’s parliamentary election. Macron’s centrist alliance came in second, with the far-right Rassemblement National coming in third.
The absence of a dominant political bloc, and the prospect of a parliament without power and political paralysis, is unprecedented in the modern French Republic.
The New Popular Front has insisted that the prime minister, as the largest group, should come from their ranks. The coalition selected the little-known civil servant Lucie Castets as their choice for prime minister.
Castets will take part in the talks on Friday, along with top figures from the New Popular Front, which also includes the far-left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens.
Centrists and conservatives will also meet Macron on Friday, while Rassemblement National leaders are expected to come to the Élysée on Monday.
Macron last month seemed to reject Castetsand said in a television interview that “the problem is not a name given by a political group” and instead stressed the need for a parliamentary majority behind the candidate.
Macron’s office said his decision for a new prime minister will be based on guarantee stability and a new government that will not be easily overthrown by a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Politicians from the centre, right and far right have indicated that they want to bring down any government with members of the France Unbowed party.
More names have been mentioned in the French media as possible candidates for the position of prime minister. Macron seems particularly interested in a coalition of politicians from the centre-left to the traditional right.
They include centre-left politician Bernard Cazeneuve, who was France’s top police officer during a series of bloody terrorist attacks in 2015, and Xavier Bertrand, a former government minister who is seen as a relative moderate on the French right. Conservative politician Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator for post-Brexit talks, is also seen as a potential candidate.
There is no set timeline for when Macron must appoint a new prime minister. As president, Macron is solely responsible for appointing the prime minister under the French constitution.
The French president said last month that he would only appoint the outgoing centrist government as an interim government to “manage current affairs”, particularly during the Olympic Games that end on August 11.
