In his first public remarks since parliamentary elections deprived his governing coalition of a majority, French President Emmanuel Macron called on France’s reinvigorated opposition blocs to come up with solutions to the political impasse in a televised address on Wednesday. But opposition forces on both the left and right have their own predicaments, and it remains unclear how willing – or able – they will be to work with Macron.
The political setback marks the first time in more than 20 years that a French president has lost an absolute majority in parliament. Although Macron’s Ensemble (Together) alliance remains the largest, with 245 MPs of 577 in total, the loss of his majority has forced the president to turn to coalition-building as he hopes to pursue his ambitious domestic reform agenda.
