France: Macron prepares to govern without a majority in the National Assembly

After this legislative earthquake, which threatens to make the country ungovernable, the Head of State invited Tuesday and Wednesday to the presidential palace the representatives of the political forces whose vocation is to constitute the ten groups planned for the Assembly.

Since there is no alternative majority, the question of how to carry out the necessary transformations for the country is posed. This is the meaning of this meeting with the political forces: to dialogue and exchange for the higher interest of the Nation and to build solutions at the service of the Frenchsaid the entourage of the head of state.

The right-wing movement Les Républicains (LR), as well as the socialist, communist and environmentalist parties have already responded positively. They will be received successively by the President.

The classic right in the position of arbiter

Re-elected in April, Mr. Macron had discussed at midday with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, appointed in mid-May, and two tenors of his coalition the strategy to adopt after the legislative elections on Sunday.

The centrist liberal coalition, which relied during Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term on a comfortable absolute majority (set at 289 deputies), retains only 245 seats out of 577 at the end of the ballot.

The rest of the hemicycle is divided mainly between the far right of Marine Le Pen, opponent of Mr. Macron in the second round of the presidential election in April, which achieves an unprecedented breakthrough with 89 deputies, the left united at the initiative of his tribune Jean-Luc Mélenchon (at least 150 deputies according to an updated count) and the classic right (LR).

The latter finds herself in the position of arbiter with around sixty deputies, to whom the presidential camp immediately reached out.

We will always be found to try to get on board with us, above all to convince the moderates who are present in this Parliament to follow ussaid government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire, who explained that his obsession was that the country is blocked.

Concretely, the presidential coalition will either have to conclude a government agreement with other parties, a classic scenario in Germany but unusual in France, or negotiate punctually on each piece of legislation.

Three ministers to replace

This configuration places Parliament at the center of the political game, a first under the Fifth Republic.

We’re not here to block, but we’re not for salereplied the regional president Xavier Bertrand during a meeting of LRwhose leadership has said it wants to stay in opposition.

After a first five-year term marked by divisive episodes, such as the popular movement of yellow vests in 2018-2019, and in a tense international context which weighs on purchasing power, Mr. Macron – often described as president of the rich – does not enjoy a very high popularity rating (56% of French people did not think he was a good head of state, according to an Odoxa poll of May 31).

Presented as the big loser in the election, he must quickly learn the lessons before being caught up in a tunnel of international obligations (European Council, G7, EU summitNATO) from Thursday.

Formed on May 20, the government should at least be seriously overhauled, due in particular to the electoral defeat of three of its members, including the Ministers of Ecological Transition and Health.

The Nupes already dissolved?

The various opposition parties have called on Emmanuel Macron to change policy and government taking into account the election results.

Elisabeth Borne is too weak to be able to stay Prime Minister, thus estimated Louis Aliot, the vice-president of the RN.

Same opinion on the side of the left alliance Nupes (New popular, ecological and social union) which announced a motion of censure against his government.

But this electoral coalition is itself crossed by differences. The leader of the radical left Jean-Luc Mélenchon proposed to the socialist, communist and ecologist parties to create a single group in the Assembly, contrary to what was planned in their electoral alliance. But his allies have opposed him an end of inadmissibility.