In France, the impasse continues at the start of a crucial week

Photo: Teresa Suarez Associated Press As France’s political crisis continues, President Emmanuel Macron is continuing his official duties. On Sunday, he took part in a ceremony commemorating 80 years since the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupiers during World War II.

Olivier Du Ruisseau

Published at 12:00 am

• Europe

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A crucial week is beginning with tension in France, while Emmanuel Macron leaves uncertainty hanging over the person he should appoint to Matignon. In any case, Jean-Luc Mélenchon promises to change the situation, having mentioned on Saturday his support for a possible government of the left-wing candidate Lucie Castets without ministers from her party, La France insoumise (LFI).

Let us recall that the alliance of left-wing parties, the New Popular Front (NFP), unexpectedly won the second round of the legislative elections on July 7, although it did not obtain an absolute majority. Since then, the left has been campaigning for Lucie Castets to be appointed Prime Minister by Mr. Macron.

But while custom dictates that the president appoints a prime minister from the majority elected in the legislative elections, he is not obliged to do so. That said, a government of Emmanuel Macron's coalition, which came second to the National Rally (RN), would risk a motion of censure from the left. Last week, Jean-Luc Mélenchon even threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings — although considered unfeasible — against Emmanuel Macron if he did not appoint Ms. Castets to Matignon.

“We are plunged into an exceptional situation, where the president no longer hopes to appoint the candidate who will obtain the most popular support, but the one who will prove to be the least 'censorable',” believes Julien Robin, a doctoral student at the University of Montreal and an expert in French politics.

And in the current context where the RN (far right), Les Républicains (LR, right), and certain Macronist deputies (center right) promise to censor any government that includes rebellious or environmentalist ministers, France remains mired in the impasse.

Negotiations

Emmanuel Macron began meeting with representatives of the various political parties, including Ms Castets, on Friday to clarify his decision. On Monday, he is due to meet with Marine Le Pen and Éric Ciotti, leader of a faction of Republican elected officials who supported the RN in the second round of the legislative elections.

However, on Saturday, French media outlets, including the newspaper Les Échos, claimed that Mr Macron had already decided, following his meetings the day before, that he would not appoint Ms Castets to Matignon, because she proposed that his government be made up of rebellious elected officials.

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Let us clarify that this was necessary for the senior civil servant appointed by the left-wing alliance, because LFI remains the largest party within the NFP, with 72 elected members in the National Assembly, followed by the Socialist Party (66), the Ecologist and Social group (38) and the Democratic and Republican Left (17). In total, the NFP has 193 elected representatives, in an assembly of 577 seats, ahead of Emmanuel Macron's coalition, Ensemble pour la République (163), the RN (126) and the Droite républicaine group (47).

A coup d’éclat

However, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of LFI and candidate for the party in the last presidential elections, caused a surprise by supporting a Castets government that would not include any rebellious deputies, in order to calm the threats of censure from the center and the right. A proposal welcomed by the other left-wing parties, which nevertheless surprised Ms. Castets: “I think that the four forces of the NFP have a vocation to govern. […] I am waiting for the response” from the other parties, she said.

“It is a potentially viable solution, but above all, a snub to the condition of the right and Macronie, set since the second round, according to which a government including LFI deputies would be censored,” maintains Julien Robin. “Now, Emmanuel Macron is caught off guard, facing his responsibilities.”

At the time of writing, the Macronist leaders had still not reacted to this hypothesis. Some deputies have already criticized it, including Benjamin Haddad, elected member of the Renaissance party: “Who can be fooled by such manipulation” ? he wrote on X. A government subject to the injunctions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which will implement the NFP-LFI program, explosion of taxes and public spending, economic interventionism, complicity with authoritarian regimes, questioning of secularism: it is obviously no. »

Who can be fooled by such manipulation ?

A government subject to the injunctions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who will implement the NFP-LFI program, explosion of taxes and public spending, economic interventionism, complicity with authoritarian regimes, questioning of the… https://t.co/U5Kgq6TySP

— Benjamin Haddad (@benjaminhaddad) August 24, 2024

« Macronist deputies are therefore likely to continue to refuse that the NFP forms the government, arguing that “its program would still be close to that of LFI, even if it did not include ministers from the party,” Julien Robin rightly asserts.

Emmanuel Macron, who has the last word, could speak on Monday evening, several participants in the meetings held at the Élysée Palace told France Télévisions. And he has given himself until Wednesday, before the Paralympic Games, to decide, according to a participant from the NFP, reports France Info. It has been more than seven weeks since Mr. Macron had to appoint a prime minister following the elections. Never has a president taken so long.