Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced his resignation after the left-wing alliance won a surprise victory in France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, leaving his centrist camp unable to secure a majority.
Attal, which belongs to the president Emmanuel MacronMacron’s Renaissance party said after the publication of the first forecasts on Sunday evening that the Ensemble (Together) alliance led by Renaissance did not have a majority to govern and that he would submit his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.
Attal’s ruling camp is likely to fall from 245 seats to 150 to 180 of the 577 seats in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, making it the second-largest force after the NFP, which is expected to get 172 to 215 seats.
Macron could ask Attal and the government to stay on temporarily until there is a majority for a new government.
With the Olympic Games due to start in Paris on July 26, it is also possible that Attal’s government will remain in power for a few more weeks.
Macron appointed Attal as prime minister in January. At 34, he became the youngest prime minister in recent French history.
Attal was considered very popular and was known for his ability to discuss issues with representatives of other political camps.
However, he could not free the French government from its problems in parliament. Attal also led the campaign for the parliamentary elections.
Macron had set himself the goal of winning a clear majority for his centrist forces in the National Assembly in the early parliamentary elections, but his gamble backfired. Still, his camp did better than expected after coming third in the first round a week ago.
