The left-wing alliance, which came out on top in the French legislative elections without an absolute majority, claimed on Tuesday 9 July the right to implement its breakaway programme, even if it meant forming parliamentary alliances on a case-by-case basis, while waiting to designate a personality to lead the government.
5 min
According to the leaders of the New Popular Front, even if they do not have a sufficient relative majority to govern alone, they came out on top in the vote. So Emmanuel Macron would have no choice, he must call a Prime Minister from their ranks – they have also promised to provide a name in the coming days – and this will form a left-wing government. But for the moment, the president is not responding. On Sunday evening, he indicated his desire towait for the ” structuring » of the new Assembly.
The leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, who arrived in the middle of the afternoon at the Palais Bourbon with the socialist elected officials, said: ready to take on “the function of Prime Minister” in dialogue with [ses] partners ” from the New Popular Front, a warning against Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s desire to send an Insoumis to Matignon.
” Of course, it can be opened to otherss »
On Tuesday, as they entered the National Assembly one after the other, the left-wing deputies seemed to rule out broadening their political base and giving up on joining the centre-right, even though they only have 190 deputies, far from an absolute majority (289). I don’t think we are in a position today to have a broader coalition in government than the New Popular Front. “, declared on TF1 the environmentalist senator Yannick Jadot, for whom “ Coalitions will be built in the Assembly “.
As for the coordinator of France Insoumise, Manuel Bompard, he warned that the left would implement his program and that he would return to ” each group to take responsibility(…) either to vote for our proposals, or (…) to overthrow us “There are still some voices within the NFP in favour of an enlargement, but always under the leadership of a government anchored on the left. Of course, it can be opened to otherss, says communist MP André Chassaigne. There may be personalities who graft themselves onto a New Popular Front government and ensure that, law by law, this does not lead to a motion of censure which would bring everything down.. »
Left-wing MPs return to the Assembly amid negotiations
A socialist even suggests an alliance with the presidential camp, but that is out of the question for the ecologist elected representative Sandrine Rousseau: ” They are part of the problem we are in. The laws they passed have brutalized the Assembly and the French people and are at the root of the distrust and anger that was expressed during this election. “The same goes for the Insoumis, where it is believed that before talking about an alliance or coalition, it is first up to Emmanuel Macron to take responsibility. We demand that Emmanuel Macron respects the popular vote by choosing to appoint a Prime Minister from the New Popular Front. “, declared Mathilde Panot, LFI MP.
Those who yesterday quarreled daily must now agree, particularly on the designation of a consensual figure to embody their project. A name could come out of the hat by the end of the week, or the beginning of next week.
Unraveling flagship measures
And after that, the coalition wants to go back on several flagship measures passed by the presidential camp, starting with the pension reform, a very unpopular text of Macron’s second five-year term. The union of the left also plans to repeal an immigration law and yet another unemployment insurance reform, as well as increasing the minimum wage. The rating agency Moody’s warned on Tuesday that the repeal of the pension reform and the absence of budgetary savings measures could weigh on France’s rating. France’s credit rating would be “ under pressure “if the country did not succeed” not to reduce its large public deficit “, which slipped sharply last year to 5.5% of GDP in 2023, warned the credit agency S&P Global.
Read alsoFrance: state of public finances
On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron anticipated long, tortuous discussions, asking his resigning prime minister Gabriel Attal to stay in office for ” ensure the stability of the country “, while Paris hosts the Olympic Games in less than three weeks. For France, accustomed to relative political stability thanks to its 1958 Constitution, the situation is unprecedented.
Game of three
In addition, the left-wing alliance is opposed by a solid Macronist camp (around 160 seats), a Republican right that could play a pivotal role with some 66 seats and the extreme right of the National Rally (RN) which, with its allies (more than 140 seats), intends to prepare for the 2027 presidential election. The left-wing parties ” cannot claim to govern alone “, said the outgoing President of the Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, on Tuesday. We are able to represent another alternative political force “.
Read alsoLegislative elections in France: Gabriel Attal, Prime Minister until when?
Determined to stay at the center of the game after a campaign that avoided a rout in the presidential camp, Gabriel Attal is bringing together the majority deputies on Tuesday. As for the far right, it is taking a hit after having hoped that its president Jordan Bardella, 28, would become Prime Minister. On Monday, the latter acknowledged ” errors ” in his campaign, marked by racist excesses and other manifestations of incompetence by many RN candidates.
The party, whose leader Marine Le Pen is aiming for the 2027 presidential election after being defeated three times in this election since 2012, intends to leave its mark on the National Assembly. On Tuesday, left-wing deputies called for preventing the RN from accessing strategic positions in the Assembly, which RN deputies denounced as “ undemocratic “.