Discussions about proposing a Prime Minister from the left have not stopped since the publication of the results of the legislative elections. Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was ready to take on this role, but the left seems to be moving towards other, less divisive names.
After the New Popular Front obtained a relative majority in the National Assembly, the name of Jean-Luc Mélenchon was on everyone’s lips concerning the new occupant of Matignon. Although Emmanuel Macron refused the resignation of Gabriel Attal, on Monday July 8, the left is demanding that a new Prime Minister, from the alliance, be appointed by the President of the Republic.
Regarding Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is not unanimously supported, even on the left, Mathilde Panot considered that he was “one of the possibilities” for Matignon. But the other figures of the New Popular Front do not share the same opinion. Fabien Roussel assured RTL that the name of the leader of the rebels was “not even discussed”. And added: “For the majority of representatives of the political forces in this New Popular Front, he will not and cannot be Prime Minister.”
Marine Tondelier made the same observation on our colleagues at RTL on Monday, July 8. She considered that “a good Prime Minister must calm the country” and “unite in his own camp”. The leader of the environmentalists then recalled that the rebellious leader “had said himself that he did not want to impose himself, and a whole section of the New Popular Front had said that they did not want it to be him”. Marine Tondelier hammered the point home: “For me, these answers were convergent: it was not going to be Jean-Luc Mélenchon.”
Emmanuel Macron will probably not appoint Jean-Luc Mélenchon as Prime Minister
The question will ultimately be decided by the head of state: it is up to Emmanuel Macron to appoint his Prime Minister. While it is customary for the President of the Republic to appoint a head of government from the majority bloc in the National Assembly, nothing obliges him to choose the personality designated by the bloc in question. Moreover, faced with a National Assembly made up of coalitions, none of which has an absolute majority, the President of the Republic has even freer hands to organize his executive: nothing actually obliges him to opt for a left-wing figure.
If Emmanuel Macron did indeed opt for a left-wing prime minister, he would probably choose a more moderate figure than Jean-Luc Mélenchon: a socialist, a communist or an environmentalist, or even someone who is not affiliated with a major party. He has already assured, before the second round of the legislative elections, that he would not govern with La France Insoumise.