Three days after the second round of France\u2019s snap parliamentary election ended in gridlock, President Emmanuel Macron broke his silence to urge mainstream parties to form a solid majority in the National Assembly and shut out the extremes. <\/p>\n
France\u2019s vote, which Macron unexpectedly called after his party was trounced by Marine Le Pen\u2019s far-right National Rally (RN) party in last month\u2019s European elections, has tipped France into political limbo, after none of the three main blocs came close to forming an absolute majority. <\/p>\n
In an open letter to the French people published Wednesday, Macron called on parties with \u201crepublican values\u201d \u2013 understood to exclude parties on the far left and far right \u2013 to form a coalition large enough to pass laws in parliament. <\/p>\n
Macron\u2019s comments suggest he is unwilling to work with the more extreme part of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, which secured the most seats in the French parliament in Sunday\u2019s second-round vote, but not enough to govern independently. <\/p>\n
\u201cI call on all political forces that recognize themselves in republican institutions, the rule of law, parliamentarianism, a European orientation and the defense of French independence, to engage in sincere and loyal dialogue to build a solid majority, necessarily plural, for the country,\u201d wrote Macron. <\/p>\n
Macron said it was \u201cin light of these principles\u201d that he will decide on the appointment of France\u2019s next prime minister. \u201cThis means giving the political forces a little time to build these compromises with serenity and respect for each other,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The NFP won 182 seats in the National Assembly, making it the largest group in the 577-seat parliament. Macron\u2019s centrist Ensemble alliance, which trailed in a distant third in the first round, mounted a strong recovery to win 163 seats. And the RN and its allies, despite leading the first round, won 143 seats. <\/p>\n
It is customary for the French president to appoint a prime minister from the largest parliamentary group \u2013 in this case the NFP \u2013 and ask it to form a government. <\/p>\n
But Macron and his Ensemble allies have repeatedly refused to enter into coalition with the far-left France Unbowed, the largest single party within the NFP, and have accused its leader, the 72-year-old firebrand Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, of being just as extreme and unfit to govern as figures on the far right. <\/p>\n
The NFP formed days after Macron called the snap vote, and chose its name in an attempt to resurrect the original Popular Front that blocked the far right from gaining power in 1936. After tactical voting and political bargaining between centrist and left-wing voters, the NFP managed the same feat in Sunday\u2019s second round. <\/p>\n
But the NFP does not speak with a single voice. The various parties in the coalition straddle vast ideological ground, from the far-left France Unbowed to the more moderate Place Publique and Socialist parties. When the shock result was announced, each party celebrated separately, and the bloc still has not nominated a leader to become prime minister. <\/p>\n
M\u00e9lenchon has stated his intention to govern France. In a victory speech Sunday evening near Stalingrad Square in Paris, he said Macron \u201chas the duty\u201d to ask the NFP to form a government. <\/p>\n
Unlike its neighbors Italy and Germany, France \u2013 with its presidential system \u2013 lacks the culture of coalition-building and compromise, meaning the formation of a new government could take weeks and prove fleeting. <\/p>\n
Newly-elected members of parliament, called \u201cdeputies,\u201d are scheduled to take their seats for the first time on July 18. But without a clear majority, a minority government faces the risk of no-confidence votes, which could lead to several governments replacing each other in quick succession. <\/p>\n
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal\u2019s offer to resign was on Monday rejected by Macron, leaving him in place in a caretaker role until the new government is formed. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe current government will continue to exercise its responsibilities, then take care of day-to-day business in accordance with republican tradition,\u201d Macron said, in an attempt to calm the situation two weeks out from the Olympic Games\u2019 opening ceremony in Paris. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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