France is without a permanent government after snap elections resulted in a hung parliament. The country looks set for tricky negotiations over which parties should form a government and who could lead it – but the constitution sets strict deadlines for when key positions must be filled.
The final round of legislative elections on Sunday made the left-wing New Popular Front the largest bloc in parliament, followed by the centrist Ensemble alliance in second place and the far-right National Rally party in third.
The left is short of a majority by over 100 seats, however, and lacks an obvious leader who could secure the backing of rival groups to rule by coalition.
President Emmanuel Macron will remain in post as head of state, a position that is elected separately from the parliament.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who belongs to Macron's party, offered his resignation but has been asked to stay on in a caretaker capacity.
The rest of the cabinet will also remain in place temporarily to handle day-to-day matters, though policy decisions are for now on ice.
France keeps PM on as caretaker as wrangling over new government begins
Next steps
After the full count is finalised, the members of the National Assembly – France's lower house of parliament – will be sworn in.
Out of 577, 76 were elected outright in the first round of voting on 30 June and have already been initiated, leaving 501 still to take office.
They will begin visiting the parliament building from Monday to familiarise themselves with the chamber and pick up security badges.
The next task will be to form parliamentary groups, the blocs into which MPs are organised according to their political affinities.
These groupings generally follow party lines, though those who don't have the 15 members required to form their own sometimes join forces. Others represent a broader alliance of shared interests, such as Macron's centrist Ensemble group, made up of his party plus two others.
Forming a group confers several advantages, including funding, office space, guaranteed speaking time and the right to pursue key leadership positions within the Assembly.
The new groups must designate their potential candidates for these positions, as well as choosing a leader who will represent them in parliament.
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First sessions
France's constitution states that parliament must sit on the second Thursday after snap elections have concluded, which in this case is 18 July.
The incoming Assembly will be formally opened in a session presided over by the oldest member, assisted by the six youngest MPs.
The first order of business will be to elect a president of the Assembly, the equivalent of a speaker of the house. That is decided by MPs in a secret ballot with up to three rounds of voting.
The various groups will also submit their lists of candidates for parliamentary roles.
The following day, MPs will vote for the six vice-presidents, 12 secretaries and three financial administrators that make up the Assembly's leadership bureau, which will ultimately be responsible for setting the order of business.
On 20 July, legislators decide who chairs each of the eight standing parliamentary committees: finance, foreign affairs, defence, economy, social affairs, culture, sustainable development and law.
Rules say that the finance committee at least must be headed by a member of the opposition. Seats on the committees, meanwhile, are divided proportionally between parliamentary groups.
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Choosing a prime minister
The new session falls when lawmakers had planned to be on summer break, which this year was due to start on 12 July ahead of the Paris Olympics.
In such circumstances, the constitution says parliament must sit for 15 days – which would take the session up to 2 August.
There is no fixed deadline for nominating a prime minister, however. The choice is up to the president, though MPs can swiftly topple a premier they're unhappy with by calling a vote of no confidence.
While it's usually a straightforward choice – the leader of the party or bloc with a majority – the fragmented nature of this parliament means finding someone who can command consensus will be tough.
There is no requirement for the prime minister to be a sitting MP. As a last resort, Macron could decide to look outside politics altogether and appoint technocrats to run the government.
As for calling fresh elections, that's only an option one year after the last snap polls – in other words, no earlier than June 2025.
