Macron "No Winner... Must Build a Large-Scale Force"
1st Left-Wing Alliance "Nonsense"... Far-Right Also Criticizes
France's early general election ended without any party securing a majority of seats, and on the 10th (local time), President Emmanuel Macron urged, "Please engage in sincere and faithful dialogue to build a solid majority party for the nation." However, by implying the exclusion of both the far-left and far-right in the coalition government formation process, difficulties are expected until the new government is launched.
According to Bloomberg and The New York Times (NYT), President Macron published a letter to the people in the French local media on the same day, stating that "no one won" in the election.
This is the first time President Macron has expressed his position on the election results since the runoff vote of the general election on the 7th. President Macron is currently attending the NATO summit held in Washington, USA, for three days starting the day before.
President Macron said, "Although the far-right won nearly 11 million votes in the first round, the people clearly rejected the far-right entering the government," and urged "all political forces that claim republicanism, the rule of law, parliamentarism, pro-European orientation, and the defense of French independence to build a diverse and solid majority party for serious and loyal dialogue."
He also stated, "Given the nature of this election characterized by a clear demand for change and power sharing, a large force capable of governing together must be built," and "the Republican Front chosen at the ballot box must be implemented through action."
President Macron said he would wait for the prime minister nomination while the current government continues its duties and urged the formation of a coalition government.
This letter came amid pressure from the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), which ranked first in the general election, demanding the right to form the government. Major foreign media analyzed that the letter implies Macron's desire to avoid forming a cohabitation government with the NFP at all costs. The NYT stated that based on the letter's content, President Macron is likely to reject the NFP's choice, and political tensions will escalate. The far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), led by Jean-Luc M?lenchon, is not included in the "republican forces" mentioned by President Macron. The National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, is similarly excluded.
According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the results of the general election on the 7th showed that the left-wing alliance NFP secured 182 seats out of the total 577 seats, President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition obtained 168 seats, and the far-right RN and allied forces secured 143 seats.
In a 'hung parliament' where no party has a majority, it is customary for the majority party to recommend a prime minister, and the president approves the nomination. There is no time limit for the president's approval. Bloomberg analyzed that due to the election results, President Macron has taken on the role of a potential kingmaker.
However, President Macron's remarks have sparked backlash from both the left and far-right camps. In particular, the NFP criticized that since President Macron rejected Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's resignation and allowed him to remain in office, he has been stalling to avoid appointing an NFP member as prime minister. This is expected to cause continuous friction during the coalition government formation process.
Leader M?lenchon criticized on his Twitter, "The president refuses to acknowledge the poll results where the NFP leads in vote share and seats," and "claims to give time to form another coalition through post-election nonsense." Marine Tondelier, a Green Party member, urged President Macron to accept the election results and appoint a prime minister from the NFP. RN's Le Pen suggested that President Macron is trying to block LFI, which contributed to his election three days ago, and pointed out, "This circus is becoming despicable."
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