PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron did not declare a ceasefire on Monday after defeating far-right rival Marine Le Pen the previous day as his political opponents urged voters to reject the president’s parliamentary majority.
Unless he wins another parliamentary election on 12 and 19 June, the centrist, pro-European president will struggle to advance his pro-business agenda, including passing the unpopular bill to raise the retirement age.
“The voting is not over, the third round of the legislative elections,” Le Pen’s close ally, Jordan Bardella, told voters: “Don’t put all the power in Emmanuel Macron’s hands.”
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the ultra-leftist candidate who finished third after Le Pen in the first round of the presidential race, said Macron was elected “for lack of choice”.
“Don’t give up,” he told his supporters. You can beat Macron (in the parliamentary elections) and choose a different path.”
Marion Marechal, Le Pen’s nephew, who supported the author’s nationalist candidate Eric Zemmour, asked his aunt and party leaders to hold a meeting to discuss a possible parliamentary alliance.
“Without the coalition, Macron will have all the powers and Melenchon will be the first opposition group,” Marechal said on Twitter. “With a coalition we can turn the nationalist camp into the biggest power in the Assembly!”
In the last French legislative elections, the president’s party always won a majority in the Parliament.
If the outcome is different this time, Macron will have no choice but to appoint a prime minister from another party, resulting in a tense period of “cohabitation” in which presidential powers are severely restricted.
During cohabitation, the president remains head of the Armed Forces and retains some influence over foreign policy, but the government is responsible for most other state affairs.
“The truth is there is more to the French election story than Macron’s victory yesterday,” said Jane Foley, Rabobank FX strategist.
A government source said the president went into seclusion in Versailles, consulting with political figures such as former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.
The White House said Macron is also expected to meet with US President Joe Biden later on Monday.
The final results of the second round on Sunday showed Macron winning 58.54% of the vote. While a clear victory, the result also provided the largest turnout for the far right in the presidential election.]
Macron and his allies have vowed to rule differently and listen more to the electorate, hoping it will help them win a substantial majority in parliament.
(Reported in Paris by Michel Rose, Tassilo Hummel, Myriam Rivet, Manuel Ausloos, Jeevan Ravindran, Myriam Rivet, Leigh Thomas, Dominique Vidalon and Sudip Kar-Gupta)
source: Noticias
