Macron keeps PM in office for ‘stability’ after chaotic election result

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday rejected the resignation of his prime minister and asked him to stay on temporarily as head of government after chaotic election results left the formation of a new government in limbo.

French voters split their term between left, centre and far right, with no political faction coming close to the majority needed to form a government. The risk of paralysis loomed over the European Union’s second-largest economy on Monday.

President Emmanuel Macron had hoped his decision to call an early election would give France a “moment of clarity” but the result proved otherwise, less than three weeks before the start of the Olympic Games put the country in the international spotlight.

France’s main stock market benchmark opened lower in response to the election result but quickly recovered, possibly because markets feared a clear victory for the far right or left-wing coalition.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had said he would stay on if necessary, but he resigned on Monday morning. Macron, who appointed him just seven months ago, immediately asked him to stay on to “guarantee the stability of the country.” Macron’s top political allies took part in the meeting with Attal at the presidential palace, which lasted about 90 minutes. Attal also made clear on Sunday that he disagreed with Macron’s decision to call early elections.

The results of the two rounds of voting did not leave a clear path to forming a government for either the leftist coalition, which came first, or for Macron’s centrist alliance or the far right.

New and re-elected lawmakers were expected to arrive at the National Assembly to begin negotiations as soon as possible. Macron himself was scheduled to travel this week to a NATO summit in Washington.

The political deadlock could shake markets and have far-reaching implications for the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and European economic stability.

“Enthusiasm in Paris, disappointment in Moscow, relief in kyiv. Enough to be happy in Warsaw,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was also president of the European Council, on Sunday evening on X.

According to official results released early Monday, none of the three blocs came close to securing the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the most powerful of France’s two legislative chambers.

The results gave the leftist New Popular Front coalition just 180 seats, ahead of Macron’s centrist alliance’s more than 160 seats. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies were relegated to third place, though their more than 140 MPs were still far more than the party’s previous record of 89 seats in 2022.

Instead of supporting Macron as expected, millions of people took the vote as an opportunity to express their anger at inflation, crime, immigration and other sources of discontent, such as his style of government.

Leaders of the New Popular Front immediately pressed Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and propose a prime minister. The faction has promised to roll back many of Macron’s signature reforms, launch a costly public spending program and take a tougher stance on Israel over its war with Hamas. But it was unclear, even among the left, who could lead the government without angering crucial allies.

“We need someone who can offer consensus,” said Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, which joined the left-wing coalition and was still determining on Monday how many seats it had secured.

Macron warns that the left’s economic programme, with tens of billions of euros in public spending, partly financed by wealth taxes and tax hikes on top earners, could be a disaster for France, which has already been reprimanded by the EU’s debt watchdog.

A blocked parliament is uncharted territory for modern France

“What the pollsters and the press were telling us made me very nervous, so it’s a big relief. High expectations as well,” said Nadine Dupuis, a 60-year-old legal secretary in Paris. “What’s going to happen? How are they going to govern this country?”

The political agreement between the left and the centre to block the National Rally was largely successful. Many voters decided that keeping the far right out of power was more important to them than anything else and supported their rivals in the second round, even if they were not from the side they usually vote for.

“Disappointed, disappointed,” said far-right supporter Luc Doumont, 66. “Well, happy to see our progress, because in the last few years we have been improving.”

National Rally leader Le Pen, who is expected to make a fourth attempt to run for the French presidency in 2027, said the vote was the basis for “victory tomorrow”.

Racism and anti-Semitism marred the election campaign, along with Russian disinformation campaigns, and more than 50 candidates reported physical attacks, a rare occurrence in France.

Unlike other European countries more accustomed to coalition governments, France does not have a tradition of legislators from political factions working together to form a majority. France is also a more centralized country than other European nations, and many more decisions are made in Paris.