French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with small parties on Tuesday, a day after he ruled out appointing a government led by the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP).
Macron met representatives of the small centre-right parliamentary group LIOT in the Élysée Palace, French media reported, ahead of talks with conservative parties on Wednesday.
The French president has been holding talks with party leaders since last week in an attempt to end weeks of political deadlock and form a government. However, his decision on Monday to bypass the NFP candidate for prime minister, civil servant Lucie Castets, has drawn heavy criticism from the left.
The NFP, made up of the far-left France Unbowed, the Socialists, the Communists and the Greens, won parliamentary elections in July but is short of about 100 seats for a majority in the National Assembly, France’s lower house.
Macron has previously ruled out working with France Unbowed, arguing that a left-wing government would only lead to instability, as it would face fierce opposition from other parties and could fall in an early vote of no confidence.
On Monday he called on the Socialists, Greens and Communists to “work together with other political forces” to form a government.
However, Macron’s attempts to split the NFP appeared to have failed on Tuesday as representatives of the alliance ruled out further talks.
“We will not continue this circus and these sham consultations,” Marine Tondelier, leader of the Green Party, said on France Info radio.
