Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has been met with criticisms of breaching democracy by refusing to accept the Prime Ministerial nominee put forth by the leftist union, following the recent ambiguous elections. Macron, in his presidential role, holds the sole power to appoint the Prime Minister.
The French political landscape has been in a state of flux since July due to the lack of a definitive victor in the initial legislative elections. There are growing signs of unrest evidenced by plans for significant demonstrations against Macron in the upcoming week, as Paris gets ready for the Paralympic Games opening ceremony on Wednesday evening.
The New Popular Front coalition bagged the maximum seats in the National Assembly, with Macron’s centralist group secured the second rank, and the extreme-right National rally securing the third. None of these parties have a majority in France’s authoritative lower house of parliament.
However, the leftist union – comprising the hard left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens – argue that the new Prime Minister should be from their side as they represent the largest group.
Macron, however, declined their Prime Ministerial candidate — relatively unknown public servant Lucie Castets. He defended his decision stating that his rejection of a government spearheaded by the New Popular Front was to maintain “institutional stability”.
According to Macron, a left-wing government would not receive endorsement from the deeply fragmented parliament. He announced additional discussions with political leaders and urged the left-wing leaders to seek collaboration with different political groups including his centralist coalition.
Left-wing leaders launched a backlash against Macron, accusing him of putting French democracy at risk and going against the election outcomes. The Socialists and the Greens declined to have further discussions with the President on Tuesday.
Protests against Macron are being organised by ‘France Unbowed’, who blame him for creating an “exceptionally serious situation”. The Green’s leader, Marine Tondelier, lamented the lack of democratic values, insinuating that the election was being usurped. They further stated any administration “that is not left-wing” would not be accepted by the New Popular Front. Francois Ruffin, a member of the parliament from France Unbowed, called upon the populace to oust Macron, attributing the political unrest and instability to him.
In a clear indicator of a divergence in left-wing perspectives, the secretary-general of the French Socialist Party, Pierre Jouvet, revealed his supporters’ intent to abstain from protests, implying a willingness to engage in further talks with the French president.
“We won’t rally for street protests at this point,” Jouvet advised in a France Info dialogue. “The urgency lies within the political conversation, despite our serious concerns about President Emmanuel Macron’s decisions.”
No set guidelines demand that President Macron must appoint a candidate from the political party with the majority seats; neither is a timeframe designated for such a decision. The lack of a dominant political entity is an unfamiliar scene in France’s recent political narrative.
Macron’s office confirmed the previous week that he plans to select a prime minister after conducting consultations that initiated on Friday and were directed towards achieving “the widest and most secure majority feasible”.
Politicians from the middle, the right, and the extreme-right have proposed that they will attempt to topple any government that incorporates members from the Unbowed France Party.