French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, following a chaotic electoral result that left neither the left, nor the right, nor the center with a majority in the National Assembly.
A broad left-leaning coalition, the New Popular Front, won the most seats in Sunday’s second round, but fell short of a majority.
He emerged ahead of the far-right National Rally, which came in third place, behind Macron’s centrist party. Voter turnout was high.
The result leaves France facing the terrifying prospect of a suspended parliament and threatens political paralysis in a pillar of the European Union and the country hosting the Olympic Games.
The far right drastically increased the number of seats it holds in parliament, but fell far short of expectations.
What happens next in this nuclear-armed nation has the potential to impact the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability.
At the moment:
— With French voters divided between left, center and right, political paralysis threat.
-Global the markets are mixed as France faces weeks of uncertainty.
– Here is a guide to how French elections work and what could happen next.
— How Marcon went from successful political newcomer to weakened leader.
Here are the latest:
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is prepared to work with the French leadership regardless of political affiliation, a spokesman said.
“France is obviously one of the UK’s closest partners. As members of NATO and the G7, we have many common interests,” said a spokesperson. “The Prime Minister has previously said he will work with any government in Europe and around the world.”
French markets are calmly accepting the results of Sunday’s elections, although no political force has won a majority and the country faces weeks of political uncertainty.
This arises because the scenario that most worried investors did not happen: a majority for both the left-wing New Popular Front and Marine Le Pen’s populist and anti-immigration National Rally. Both made expansive promises to increase social spending or, in the case of the National Rally, to cut taxes, measures that could have increased France’s already large budget deficit and led to financial turmoil.
The CAC-40 index – which includes the country’s largest companies, such as luxury goods manufacturers LVMH and Hermes, cosmetics and personal care company L’Oreal and oil company TotalEnergies. —rose 0.2% to 7,692.97.
A key index of tension in financial markets eased slightly as the spread, or difference, between yields on French government bonds and highly safe German government bonds shrank from 0.77 percentage points to 0.62 percentage points.
Analysts say that without a clear majority in parliament, France could nevertheless struggle to reduce its budget deficit, which was increased by consumer support spending during the energy crisis that began when Russia cut off most of its energy supplies. natural gas during the invasion of Ukraine.
The government of Germany, which along with France has long been seen as the engine of European integration, expressed relief on Monday that the nationalist far-right had not become the strongest party in its main country. partner.
“For now, a certain relief prevails because the things we feared have not materialized,” a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told journalists in Berlin. “Only time will tell what will happen with this election result and France will decide.”
“The Franco-German relationship is very special,” added Steffen Hebestreit. “It is certainly also the essence of the fact that we live in Europe in peace and freedom.”
Members of French President Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet stormed the presidential palace on Monday after chaotic election results left no political faction with a clear majority.
Among those who arrived on Monday morning were the prime minister appointed by Macron just seven months ago and the interior minister.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he would submit his resignation on Monday, but said he would remain “as long as duty requires”. His departure would leave France without a head of government less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Attal made it clear on Sunday that he disagreed with Macron’s decision to call surprise elections. The results of two rounds of voting left no clear path for the formation of a government, whether for the left-wing coalition that came first, for Macron’s centrist alliance, or for the extreme right.
