Poll blow leaves Macron in political limbo
PARIS: Allies of French President Emmanuel Macron started working yesterday to cobble together a working parliamentary majority to salvage his second term, after his alliance crumbled in the election against surges from the left and far-right.
Mr Macron’s Ensemble (Together) coalition emerged as the largest party in parliamentary elections but was dozens of seats short of keeping the parliamentary majority it had enjoyed for the last five years.
It will now begin work to try and find a majority by forming deals with other parties on the right, stirring up turmoil unprecedented in French politics in recent years.
Mr Macron, 44, now also risks being distracted by domestic problems as he seeks to play a prominent role in putting an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as a key statesman in the EU.
The election saw a new left-wing alliance make gains to become the main opposition, while the farright under Marine Le Pen posted its best legislative performance in its history.
“This situation constitutes a risk for our country, given the challenges that we have to confront,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said in a televised statement Sunday, vowing: “We will work from tomorrow to build a working majority.”
The outcome severely tarnished Mr Macron’s April presidential election victory when he defeated the farright to be the first French president to win a second term in over two decades.
“It’s a turning point for his image of invincibility,” said Bruno Cautres, a researcher at the Centre for Political Research of Sciences Po.
The options available to Mr Macron, who has yet to publicly comment on the result, range from seeking to form a new coalition alliance, passing legislation based on ad hoc agreements to even calling new elections.
Le Monde daily headlined on its website “Macron faces the risk of political paralysis”, while the right-wing Le Figaro daily said the results raised the spectre of a “stillborn new mandate”.
Left-leaning Liberation’s Monday edition said that the results represented the “fall” of Mr Macron’s way of governing.
The new left-wing coalition Nupes under 70-year-old hard-left figurehead Jean-Luc Melenchon won 135 seats, according to an AFP count based on the results published by the ministry.
The coalition, formed in May after the left splintered for April’s presidential elections, brings together Socialists, the hard left, Communists and greens.
Mr Melenchon called Sunday’s results “above all an electoral failure” for Mr Macron.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party made huge gains and will send 89 MPs to the new parliament, making it the biggest rightwing force in parliament ahead of the traditional right The Republicans.