France: Failure to Agree on New PM Puts Leftwing Coalition in Stalemate

By Staff, Agencies

France’s leftwing coalition that won most seats in the general election is facing division after its leading party said it was suspending negotiations with the others over a failure to agree on a prime minister.

Just one week after the election, the fragile unity within the New Popular Front [NFP] fractured on Monday when France Unbowed [LFI] accused the Socialist party [PS] of “unacceptable methods” in vetoing suggestions over who should lead any new administration.

The rift comes at the start of a crucial week in which the government will resign and new MPs will vote on Thursday to appoint a new president of the national assembly, the equivalent of the speaker of the house.

On Monday, LFI said it would not resume talks about forming a government or agreeing a possible prime minister until after the vote for president of the lower house.

In an angry statement, LFI accused the PS of playing into the hands of Macron – whose centrist alliance Ensemble pushed the far-right National Rally [RN] into third place – by putting the leftwing alliance into a “deadlock”.

“Is the PS playing for time to allow the NFP to crumble and abandoning the program on which it was elected? We will not allow this stalemate to facilitate presidential maneuvers,” it wrote.

Macron has said he would not work with a government led by LFI. Both LFI and RN have said they would launch a motion of no confidence in any government that included the other.

“The PS has chosen to veto any candidacy [for prime minister] from the NFP, with the sole aim of imposing its own, arguing that it would be the only one acceptable to Emmanuel Macron. It is thus making the president of the republic the decision-maker on our alliance, even though it has been formed against him and his policies,” the LFI statement said.

It added: “These methods are unacceptable. We demand an immediate agreement on a single candidate from the New Popular Front for the presidency of the national assembly … until then we will not participate in any other discussion about the forming of a government.”

The legislative election that Macron called after the RN’s success in the European elections was meant to “clarify” the French political landscape. Instead, the result just over a week ago revealed three similarly sized blocs had emerged – none of which has a majority, or the prospect of forming one.