PARIS (AP) — France’s left-wing Popular Front, which won the most seats in the high stakes parliamentary elections earlier this month, announced on Tuesday that it had selected Lucie Castets, a civil servant unknown to the public, as its candidate for the new French prime minister.
The announcement came shortly before the president Emmanuel Macron will appear in a nationally televised interview on Tuesday evening, hoping to end the weeks-long political impasse.
Castets, a senior civil servant, graduated from Sciences Po, the London School of Economics and the École Nationale d’Administration. She worked at the General Directorate of the Treasury and Tracfin, Bercy’s anti-money laundering unit.
The New Popular Front described her as “a leader of associative struggle for the defense and promotion of public services, actively involved in the struggle of ideas against retirement at 64 (annually).” They also highlighted her efforts in the fight against tax fraud and financial crime.
Macron, who has a presidential mandate until 2027, has the final say on who is appointed as prime minister. However, the prime minister needs the support of a majority of lawmakers to avoid a vote of no confidence.
Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Green Party, urged President Macron on X to “recognize the results of the election and appoint her” to Matignon, short for the prime minister’s residence.
Sébastien Chenu, a member of the far-right Rassemblement National party, criticised Castets’ selection, calling it “a joke in bad taste”.
France was on the verge of a government paralysis since National Assembly elections earlier this month resulted in a split between three major political groupings: the New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist allies and Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National.