PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron hosted far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Monday for rare and crucial talks, as the pressure mounts for him to appoint a new prime minister after last month’s inconclusive parliamentary elections.
The political deadlock has left France without a clear government direction, with the country facing a looming budget deadline and the possibility of further instability.
Le Pen, the three-time National Rally (RN) presidential candidate, emerged from the meeting calling for an extraordinary session of parliament to allow lawmakers to immediately vote on a confidence motion against any new government.
“I don’t want a prime minister to have a month to implement by decree a toxic policy that would be dangerous for the French people,” Le Pen stated.
The July elections, intended to resolve the hung-parliament situation that has plagued Macron’s administration since 2022, failed to provide a clear majority. The National Assembly remains divided into three main blocs: the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance of left-wing parties holding over 190 seats, Macron’s centrist camp with around 160 seats, and the far-right National Rally with 140 seats. None of these blocs have the 289 seats required for a majority in the 577-seat chamber.
The left-wing NFP alliance, which emerged as the largest power, has been pressuring Macron to appoint their candidate, 37-year-old economist Lucie Castets, as prime minister. However, Macron has so far delayed naming a successor, leaving a caretaker government in place for an unprecedented period as he searches for a candidate with broad support who would not be immediately toppled in a confidence vote.
Commentators have pointed out that Macron’s inability to swiftly resolve the situation reflects his political weakness. Guillaume Tabard, writing in the conservative daily Le Figaro, noted that the president “hasn’t been able to change the game or get anything moving… he is dependent on others’ goodwill to fix his own mistakes.”
With the deadline to present the 2025 budget fast approaching, Macron has been holding meetings with party leaders at the Elysee Palace since Friday in hopes of finding a consensus candidate. However, these talks have yielded little progress, as party leaders remain steadfast in their positions.
The NFP alliance continues to push for the right to implement their proposed big-spending program, while Macron’s camp and other political players, including conservatives and the RN, have vowed to oppose any left-wing government.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a leading figure in the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, made a significant concession by stating that his followers need not be ministers in any government—a key objection of Macron and other political figures. Despite this, Macron has previously dismissed the idea of an NFP-led government, labeling LFI as an “extreme” movement.
