Faced with a situation that seems hopeless, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, finally opened the door this Saturday, August 24, to a government without members of his party. Invited on TF1, the leader of LFI addressed “the leaders of the three Macronist parties and the right: the government of Lucie Castets, if it did not include any Insoumise ministers, would you commit to not voting for censure and to allowing her to implement the program for which we came out on top in the legislative elections?”, he asked.
The red line for LFI to enter the government has been drawn many times by the Macronists and the right. “If you tell us no, we will say that the rebellious ministers are in fact a pretext, it is the program that you do not want,” he added. On Xshortly afterwards, Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the PS, announced that “Jean-Luc Mélenchon is opening the way to support without the participation of France Insoumise in a government of Lucie Castets. The pretext of the presence of FI ministers no longer exists. We are now waiting for the response of all those who thought they had found there a way to reject the NFP en bloc”.
Six weeks after the legislative elections which saw the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (LFI, PS, the Greens and the PC) come out on top in terms of the number of seats, although far from an absolute majority, the group is still demanding the formation of a government and the appointment of a Prime Minister in the person of Lucie Castets. For the time being, Gabriel Attal, who resigned on 16 July, is still in place at Matignon.
The Lucie Castet option taken seriously?
On Friday, Emmanuel Macron began a cycle of consultations with party and parliamentary group leaders at the Élysée Palace, which was supposed to lead to the appointment of a Prime Minister. Starting with Lucie Castet. Coming out of the meeting, the senior civil servant appointed by the NFP considered the president “lucid” about “the desire for a change in political direction” after this election. But, she added, “the temptation still seems present for the president to form his government.” However, according to a guest in the columns of L’Express, the meeting between the left and Emmanuel Macron had all the makings of a “job interview”.
As we were telling the story, leaving the Salon Vert and Emmanuel Macron, one of the NFP emissaries had asked one last time: “So when will you appoint a Prime Minister?” The president promised: “Quickly.” The NFP emissary returned the ball: “Time is running out.” And with time, everything goes away except… the “rebellious question.” Because it is the only one that counts in the head of state’s mind.
The latter then asked his allies in the central bloc if they intended to censor a government composed of rebels: all said yes. A close friend of Emmanuel Macron explained to us again: “if we take note that we cannot have LFI ministers, this clearly excludes Lucie Castets, since she does not achieve the objective of institutional stability.”
Consultations could last
Since the legislative elections, the Macronists have been looking for ways to reach an agreement with the right in order to supplant the NFP in terms of the number of seats. A strategy that allowed, via an agreement with LR, the re-election of Yaël Braun-Pivet as president of the Assembly, but which is stumbling over the refusal of the president of LR, Laurent Wauquiez, of any coalition or government participation. However, names continue to circulate on the right for Matignon. In front of the LR leaders, the head of state cited those of Xavier Bertrand, Valérie Pécresse and David Lisnard, according to a source within the party.
The president is still due to meet with Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella on Monday, then their ally Éric Ciotti. He is also due to meet with the presidents of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet (Renaissance), and the Senate, Gérard Larcher (LR), on Monday. A second “round” of consultations could take place from Tuesday. If no political solution emerges, Emmanuel Macron is keeping the “civil society” option in mind to take a little more power away from political parties, at the risk of exposing himself even more in the event of failure.