Political crisis in France as Macron rejects candidates for prime minister

By Georg von Harrach, Europe reporter

It’s nearly two months since elections were held in France, yet President Emmanuel Macron has rejected all candidates suggested so far for a replacement prime minister.

He called the surprise snap national parliamentary election back in June, after a surge in support for the far-right in European elections. It was a huge political risk. Macron appeared to gamble that in a national poll, the French people would baulk at the prospect of putting the far right into government.

But the move backfired spectacularly.

Instead, most votes went neither to the far-right nor to Macron’s own centrist party, but instead to the New Popular Front, a quickly assembled coalition of left wing and green parties. Macron’s party came second, pushing Marine Le Pen’s far-right, Rassemblement National into third place.

No party won an absolute majority.

Macron angered his opponents further by delaying political talks whilst Paris hosted the Summer Olympic Games. After finally meeting with party leaders in the last few days, the Elysee Palace put out a statement last night rejecting all proposed candidates for prime minister:

“In this unprecedented time for the Fifth Republic, where the expectations of French women and men are high, the Head of State calls on all political leaders to rise to the occasion by demonstrating a spirit of responsibility.”

The president seems to want a candidate who can garner cross-party support. But none of the diametrically opposed parties want to work together. Even though they won the most seats, without a majority, the New Popular Front would not be able to govern.

Their candidate Lucie Castets complained on French radio this morning:

“The president waited at least a month before starting his consultations. And now, we are telling the French people you were moved [to vote], but it is worthless. You voted wrongly. Democracy means nothing to the President and I find that extremely dangerous.”

Meanwhile the far-right claimed the French President was whipping up the political storm, with Marine Le Pen telling reporters:

“Emmanuel Macron has chosen chaos. We feel like he’s making this chaos last until the month of September.”

Macron has promised further rounds of negotiations between the parties. But he took a swipe at the New Popular Front for what he sees as their obstinacy:

“The Socialist Party, the Ecologists and the Communists [which make up the New Popular Front] have not, at this stage, proposed avenues for cooperating with the other political forces. It is now up to them to do so.”

The New Popular Front stood on a mandate to block the far-right, but also to punish Macron’s Renaissance party.  A whole host of names, including former minister and Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, are being bandied around as possibilities for prime minister.

Coalescing around a compromise candidate will not be easy.

Meanwhile, Macron’s 35-year-old prodigy, Gabriel Attal, will continue to lead the lame duck interim government until the political crisis is resolved.