French President Emmanuel Macron refused the resignation Monday of the country’s prime minister, asking him on Monday to remain temporarily as the head of the government after chaotic election results left the government in limbo.
Mr Macron’s announcement came after Mr Attal made it clear he disapproved of the President’s decision to call the election, in a clear indication of a widening split between the two of them.
French voters split the legislature on the left, centre and far right, leaving no faction even close to the majority needed to form a government. The results raised the risk of paralysis for the European Union’s second-largest economy.
Mr Macron gambled that his decision to call snap elections would give France a “moment of clarification,” but the outcome showed the opposite, less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics thrusts the country on the international stage.
France’s main share index opened with a dip, but quickly recovered, possibly because markets had feared an outright victory for the far right or the leftist coalition.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had said he would remain in office if needed but offered his resignation Monday morning. Macron, who named him just seven months ago, immediately asked him to stay on “to ensure the stability of the country.”
The results of two rounds of voting left no obvious path to form a government for either the leftist coalition that came in first, Macron’s centrist alliance, or the far right, led by Marine Le Pen.
Newly elected and returning lawmakers were expected to gather at the National Assembly to begin negotiations in earnest.
Left-winger Jean-Luc Melenchon yesterday demanded Mr Attal step down.
Mr Macron himself will leave later in the week for a NATO summit in Washington.
Political deadlock could have far-ranging implications for the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. However, at least one leader said the results were a relief.
“In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kyiv relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Union Council head, wrote late Sunday on X.
According to official results released early Monday, all three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the more powerful of France’s two legislative chambers.
The results showed just over 180 seats for the New Popular Front leftist coalition, which placed first, ahead of Mr Macron’s centrist alliance, with more than 160 seats. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies were restricted to third place, although their more than 140 seats were still way ahead of the party’s previous best showing of 89 seats in 2022.
Mr Macron has three years remaining on his presidential term.
In announcing his resignation, Mr Attal made clearer than ever his disapproval of Macron’s shock decision to call the election, saying “I didn’t choose this dissolution” of the outgoing National Assembly, where the president’s centrist alliance used to be the single biggest group, albeit without an absolute majority.
Rather than rallying behind Mr Macron as he’d hoped, millions took the vote as an opportunity to vent anger about inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances – including his style of government.
The New Popular Front’s leaders immediately pushed Mr Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and propose a prime minister.
The faction pledges to roll back many of Mr Macron’s headline reforms, embark on a costly program of public spending, and take a tougher line against Israel because of its war with Hamas. But it’s not clear, even among the left, who could lead the government without alienating crucial allies.
“We need someone who offers consensus,” said Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party, which joined the leftist coalition and was still sorting out how many seats it won on Monday.