French President Emmanuel Macron met with political leaders on Friday as he seeks to build what he called an "arc of government" to resolve a political crisis triggered by the historic censure of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The president launched talks with his centrist camp allies including leaders from Renaissance, MoDem, Horizons, Radicaux and UDI, as well as Socialist figures.
While the rightwing Republican party was invited to the Elysée Palace, the far-right National Rally, hard-left France Unbowed, Greens and Communist party representatives were notably absent.
The selective invitations point to Macron's strategy to create new alliances while potentially splitting the left-wing New Popular Front coalition.
Macron “has forged his own Republican [rainbow coalition] but doesn't have many arrows for his bow,” quipped Ecologist national secretary Marine Tondelier on RMC radio.
Meanwhile, Socialist leader Olivier Faure asserted: “We will go to the Elysée because we have asked to. Those who think that the Socialist Party is for sale are mistaken."
The chief whip of France Unbowed, Manuel Bompard, dismissed the idea of negotiating a coalition with Macron's camp, declaring that “Socialists will do what they want” viewing any negotiations as a departure from their commitments to the electorate.
The collapse of Barnier’s government after a no-confidence vote has left Macron scrambling to stabilise his presidency. During a televised address on Thursday, he pledged to appoint a new prime minister "within days" and form a streamlined cabinet.
The announcement, however, is not expected until after the weekend.
Macron will be presiding over the grand reopening of Notre-Dame on Saturday, where numerous world leaders – including US president-elect Donald Trump – are expected to attend.
Budget a top priority
The new government’s immediate challenge will be resolving the impasse over the contentious 2025 budget, which was a key factor in Barnier’s downfall.
Macron said the new administration would prioritise passing temporary legislation to ensure the continuity of public services.
“This temporary law will extend for 2025 the choices made in 2024,” Macron said, adding that it would “ensure the functioning of essential services, protect French citizens and maintain obligations to the European Union”.
The special law, to be presented to parliament before mid-December, will allow the government to maintain tax revenues and fund critical sectors such as defence, justice and education.
However, it may raise political tensions, with 380,000 additional households potentially becoming taxable due to inflation and the freeze on income tax thresholds.
Meanwhile speculation is mounting about who will replace Barnier.
Centrist MoDem leader François Bayrou has emerged as a frontrunner after dining with Macron on Thursday. Other names being floated include former Socialist premier Bernard Cazeneuve, Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, and centre-right politicians Xavier Bertrand and François Baroin.
Opposition's 'irresponsibility'
During Thursday's televised address, which garnered over 17 million viewers across France, Macron slammed the "irresponsibility" of what he termed an "anti-republican front where the far right and the far left united" against Barnier.
Leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, has reportedly requested a meeting with the future prime minister to discuss “red lines” for each political force represented in parliament – emphasising that “these are always the same” for his far-right party.
In turn, France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the president of being “the cause of the problem”, predicting that Macron would “leave by force of events”.
Acknowledging criticism of his decision to dissolve parliament and call snap elections earlier this year, Macron admitted: “Many blamed me for it, and I know that many continue to blame me.”
However, he doubled-down on his intention to complete his mandate “until the end”, in 2027.
