MOSCOW, July 8, Renat Abdullin. Early parliamentary elections in France ended in a sensation. The right-wing National Rally, which was in the lead after the first round, ended up in third place. However, no one received a majority and now the country faces a difficult period of government formation. About what will happen next — in the material .
Sudden turnaround In the first round, held on June 30, the National Rally (RN, former National Front) received a third of the votes. This forced the left and center to consolidate, and on July 7 they ousted the right.
Leader of the National Rally Party Marine Le Pen speaks on a TV channel after the second round of elections to the National Assembly of France
The left alliance «New Popular Front» (NFP), which consists of four parties, has 182 mandates, the pro-presidential bloc «Together» has 168, RN — 143.
No one has a majority (289 deputies). In order to form a government, negotiations and some kind of coalition agreement will be required.
The current Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has already resigned. There was no other option: the unofficial leader of the left bloc, a longtime opponent of the president, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, would definitely not have approved the reappointment of Macron's protégé.
The head of state, however, has so far refused Attal — this is permitted by law. He asked to “stay in office to ensure stability in the country.”
Protracted bargaining «The fact that the government resigns after the elections is a convention,» says Benjamin Morel, a law professor at Panthéon-Assas University.
Macron is now in an ambiguous situation. On the one hand, since there is no clear winner, there is no rush to change the cabinet. The first session of the renewed lower house of parliament is scheduled for July 18. Obviously, before this there will be behind-the-scenes and public consultations between party factions.
The building of the Bourbon Palace in Paris, where the lower house of the French parliament sits — the National Assembly
On the other hand — the president needs to seek a compromise with the left. And there are many ideological differences.
A coalition with Le Pen is, of course, excluded.
Theoretically, nothing prevents Macron from forming a “minority government,” that is, appointing his proteges. However, the parliament will probably block the first important decision of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Finally, the owner of the Elysee Palace has the right to appoint a temporary “technical” government — from specialists not bound by party obligations. But this will also require the approval of legislators.
Unprecedented challengeMarine Le Pen announced a “complete impasse” for France. According to her, the National Rally will take revenge in a year.
The fact is that the constitution gives the president the right to dissolve parliament a year after the elections and appoint new ones.
The left expects to take power now. Analysts note: despite the consolidation against RN, neither the New Popular Front nor the Together bloc held joint events after the vote. So, it’s every man for himself.
The most likely candidate for the post of prime minister from the left is Mélenchon. But a lot depends on behind-the-scenes agreements. One of the main points of the NFP program is the abolition of Macron's pension reform.
Leader of the coalition of left parties «New Popular Front» Jean-Luc Mélenchon gives a speech at the party headquarters after the second round of elections to the National Assembly of France
France faces a historic challenge. Experts remind: unlike other European countries where coalitions are commonplace (in particular, Germany), Paris has almost no such experience. And powers are distributed in such a way that the president cannot make key decisions bypassing the deputies opposing him. Therefore, everything is just beginning.