French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out naming a left-wing government and said he will start yet another round of consultations with parties, prolonging the political deadlock following this summer’s snap elections.
After receiving the far-right National Rally Monday, concluding another round of talks with political parties, Macron rejected left-wing claims to govern.
The leftist New popular front (NFP) has said it should run the government with prime minister nominee, Lucie Castets, after winning the most seats in parliament, but falling short of a majority.
Macron had until now ignored Castets’ nomination.
In a statement from his office, Macron said an NFP government would threaten “institutional stability”, as it would not survive a confidence vote from centrist and right wing parties, because the alliance includes the hard-left France unbowed (LFI), founded by Jean-Luc Melenchon, which has been branded as extreme.
A left-wing government "would be immediately censored by all the other groups represented in the National Assembly" and "the institutional stability of our country therefore requires us not to choose this option", Macron said in the statement.
"My responsibility is that the country is not blocked nor weakened," he added.
The President said he would launch a new round of talks on Tuesday and called for parties to cooperate, notably the Socialists, communists and greens in the NFP, and not the LFI.
LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard called Macron's comments an "unacceptable anti-democratic coup".
Macron has left Gabriel Attal to run a caretaker government since the election. The pressure is on to appoint a new government as the deadline to present a draft 2025 budget to address a growing debt is just over a month away.
(with newswires)
