The French Left Asks President Macron for the Government
Politicians of the left alliance in Paris, France, 2024. Photo: X/ @PopeyeLeMarin2
August 23, 2024 Hour: 12:33 pm
‘I am ready to debate with other political forces to try to find a path that guarantees the country’s stability,’ Castets said.
On Friday, La France Insoumise (LFI) asked President Emmanuel Macron for control of the government, while the conservatives warned that they would block any administration that includes leftist ministers.
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This is the summary of the first day of talks between Macron and the leaders of the main parties, aiming to find a solution to the situation created after the early June elections, which did not produce a clear majority. Lucie Castets, the candidate for French Prime Minister from the New Popular Front (NFP), asserted that she is ready to form coalitions that would allow her to govern.
After her meeting with Macron, she said the dialogue had been valuable and that French president acknowledged that the people had sent a message of change in the July 7 elections, although she noted that his temptation to “compose his government” remains. Castets argued that the NFP should govern since it and its partners secured 193 legislators. However, they are aware that they do not have an absolute majority (289) and that they must find compromises.
“I am ready from today to build coalitions and debate with other political forces to try to find a path that guarantees the country’s stability and finally responds to the urgent needs expressed by the French people,” she emphasized.
Among the NFP leaders who also attended the meeting at the Élysée, Olivier Faure, the secretary of the Socialist Party, said the announcement of a new prime minister will happen soon.
“There are urgent issues to address, and letting weeks pass without tackling them is serious and even irresponsible,” stated the secretary of The Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, who urged Macron to make a decision next Tuesday, the day after his round of consultations with all the parties concludes.
The NFP leaders positively evaluated the meeting, particularly that Macron extended the invitation to Castets, since initially—just as with the other parties—only group leaders and parliamentary leaders were invited to the Élysée.
“The President seems to begin to understand that he lost these legislative elections, but he still does not seem to grasp all the consequences,” said Manuel Bompard, coordinator of La France Insoumise, which, along with the French Communist Party, completes the four families of the NFP.
The presence of this more radical group, founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, raises the most questions about the NFP’s ability to reach agreements with other forces. Specifically, the other major blocs threaten to bring down any government that includes LFI figures, including Macron’s camp.
But in a significant detail, the first secretary of the Socialist Party said that during the meeting, Macron admitted that all the forces that participated in the “republican front” to stop what seemed like the inevitable victory of the far-right have legitimacy to govern.
On Friday, President Macron concluded his round of talks with a meeting with Laurent Wauquiez, the leader of the Republican Right party, who said that “he will not participate in any government coalition” because coalitions “bring together people who do not think the same.”
If a government included LFI members, “we would immediately vote for a motion of no confidence,” said Wauquiez, since they consider that party “extremist” and outside the values of the French Republic.
On August 26, Macron will meet with the far-right politician Marine Le Pen, who was poised to win the July elections but had to settle for third place in the National Assembly.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
