France’s Macron says he’ll keep the centrist caretaker government on through the Olympics

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday he will maintain a centrist interim government during the Olympics to avoid “disorder,” brushing aside a last-minute prime ministerial nomination by the country’s leftist coalition.

Macron made his long-awaited announcement in a television interview on Tuesday night. Just before that appearance, the left-wing coalition that won the most votes in this month’s parliamentary elections selected the little-known civil servant Lucie Castets as its choice for prime minister.

But Macron told broadcaster France 2 that the current government, which resigned last week to take a purely caretaker role, would “handle current affairs during the Olympic Games,” which will be held in Paris and other parts of France until December 11. August.

“Until mid-August, we will not be in a position to be able to change things because it would cause disorder,” Macron said. “I have chosen stability” to safeguard the Games, which will soon bring together some 10,500 athletes and millions of fans.

Leaders of the left-wing coalition parties immediately criticized Macron’s unwillingness to immediately consider his prime ministerial candidate.

There is no firm timetable for when Macron should name a new prime minister, following legislative elections that left the National Assembly, the influential lower house of the French parliament, without any dominant political bloc in power for the first time in the modern Republic of France.

When asked about the election of the left coalition, Macron said that “the issue is not a name provided by a political group,” adding that there must be a parliamentary majority behind the candidate to “approve reforms, approve a budget and move the country forward.”

France has been on the brink of government paralysis since the National Assembly elections resulted in a split between three main political blocs: the leftist New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist allies and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.

Macron, who has a presidential term until 2027, has the final say on who will be named prime minister. However, that person would need enough support from lawmakers to avoid a vote of no confidence.

Macron urged politicians from both the moderate left, the center and the moderate right to “work together” over the summer, arguing that without an absolute majority, none of the main blocs can implement their political platforms.

He said “compromise” is needed.

Macron said he would like to form a government as soon as possible, but that “obviously, until mid-August, we must focus on the Games.”

The left-wing coalition has repeatedly demanded the right to form a government after winning the most seats in the National Assembly, but deep internal divisions have prevented its members from agreeing on a prime ministerial candidate for more than two weeks. The coalition is made up of three main parties: the far-left France Insoumise, the Socialists and the Greens.

On Tuesday they appeared to rush to propose Castets before Macron conducted his first televised interview since the election.

Following Macron’s comments, the far-left leader of France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, stated on with the”. . This is out of the question. Respect the vote of the French people.”

“Emmanuel Macron needs to get out of denial,” said Greens general secretary Marine Tondelier. “We have won, we have a program, we have a prime minister… The president cannot just stand in the way.”

Castets, a 37-year-old senior civil servant, graduated from the elite French school Sciences Po and the École Nationale d’Administration, as well as the London School of Economics. He has worked in the General Directorate of the Treasury and in Tracfin, the anti-money laundering unit of the Ministry of Finance.

The New Popular Front described her as “a leader of associative struggles for the defense and promotion of public services, actively involved in the battle of ideas against increasing the retirement age to 64 (years).” She also highlighted her efforts in fighting tax fraud and financial crimes.

Sébastien Chenu, legislator and vice president of the far-right National Rally, criticized Castets’ election and called it a “joke in bad taste.”

Last year, Macron struggled to pass an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, sparking months of mass protests that damaged his leadership.