(Bloomberg) — French president Emmanuel Macron called for a “political truce” during the Summer Olympics in Paris, which begin Friday, which could delay the appointment of a prime minister and the formation of a new government.
“The French want some calm,” Macron told a small group of reporters at the Elysee Palace on Monday, saying people want to focus on the Olympics. “Now it is the role of political leaders to get to work.”
Macron dissolved the lower house of parliament last month, leaving France’s main lawmaking body fragmented and without a clear path to form a new government. The current caretaker government is operating in a weakened and temporary role.
Macron may not appoint a new head of government until after the Olympic Games end on August 11, a government adviser said. He added that the president can be unpredictable, citing his decision to call early parliamentary elections last month.
Ministerial staffers are also looking for work since the government, led by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, resigned, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Civil servants are exhausted after the two rounds of elections but welcome the Olympics as a chance to move beyond French politics and unite the country.
Macron is constitutionally empowered to choose a new prime minister, and it is accepted practice to appoint someone from the largest faction in the National Assembly. As a counterbalance, lawmakers can call confidence votes in the government.
The left-wing New Popular Front alliance, which now holds the most seats in the National Assembly, has not yet agreed on who to put forward as its candidate for prime minister. Some have suggested the decision could be postponed until later in the summer. Veteran climate negotiator Laurence Tubiana, who was being floated by the Socialists as a possible prime minister, withdrew on Monday.
Macron could keep the current interim government in power for several more months, until more consensus emerges in the National Assembly, which is now roughly divided into three currents: the New Popular Front, the centrist Ensemble alliance and Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemble National group.
Macron also said he would swim in the Seine after the games. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river last week to show it was clean and ready for the start of the Olympics.
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