French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday refused to accept the prime minister’s resignation and asked him to stay on as caretaker head of his government after a chaotic election result left his government in limbo.
Voters split parliament between left, center and far right factions, leaving no faction approaching the majority needed to form a government, and Sunday’s result raised the risk of paralysis in the European Union’s second-largest economy.
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Macron had gambled that the decision to hold early elections would give France a clearer forum for explanation, but it has proved the opposite, with the Paris Olympics less than three weeks away and France in the international spotlight.
The French stock market fell at the open but quickly recovered afterwards, likely as markets feared a total victory for either the far-right or left-wing coalition.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced his resignation on Monday morning, despite having said he would stay on as prime minister if necessary. President Macron, who appointed him just seven months ago, immediately asked him to stay on to ensure the country’s stability. Macron’s key political allies were present at the meeting with Attal at the presidential palace, which lasted about 90 minutes.
Attal made clear on Sunday that he opposed Macron’s sudden decision to call elections, after two rounds of voting left no clear path to forming a government for either the initially elected left-wing coalition, Macron’s centrist alliance or the far-right.
Newly elected and returning lawmakers met in parliament on Monday to begin serious negotiations on a new government, while Macron himself is due to fly out midweek to attend a NATO summit in Washington.
Talks over who should form a new government and who will head the ministries of foreign affairs, interior and finance are expected to be extremely difficult and protracted, as the negotiating parties have diametrically opposed policies and disdain for each other.
“We are in a totally unprecedented situation,” said Jean-Didier Berger, a new lawmaker from the conservative Republican Party.
Aurien Rousseau, a newly elected member of the New Popular Front and a former minister in Macron’s government, acknowledged there were differences within the left-wing coalition over forming a government but said the coalition could ultimately reach an agreement.
“We need to find compromises, but we need to take the time to discuss them to find out what we agree on and what we don’t agree on within the left,” Rousseau said.
Another New Popular Front lawmaker, Julme Guedzi of the French Socialist party, said the left-wing coalition would not cave in to pressure to nominate a candidate for prime minister who could govern alongside Macron.
“These are turbulent times and we have no intention of increasing unrest and unnecessary division at a time when we need to find the right way forward,” Ghezzi said.
A political deadlock could have far-reaching implications for Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, international diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability.Still, at least one leader said the outcome was a relief.
Enthusiasm in Paris, dismay in Moscow, relief in Kiev. Happy enough in Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council, posted on X late Sunday.
Official results released early Monday showed that none of France’s three main parties were far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the most powerful of France’s two legislative bodies.
The results showed that the top-placed left-wing New Popular Front coalition won just over 180 seats, beating Macron’s centrist coalition’s more than 160. Marine Le Pen and her far-right National Rally party came in third, but its more than 140 seats were far more than the previous record of 89 seats it won in 2022.
Macron has three years left in his presidential term.
Rather than supporting Macron as he had hoped, millions of people saw the vote as an opportunity to vent their anger over inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances, including his style of politics.
New Popular Front leaders immediately urged President Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and nominate a prime minister. The group has pledged to roll back many of Macron’s signature reforms, embark on a big public spending program and take a tougher stance toward Israel because of its war with Hamas. But even on the left, it is unclear who could lead a government without alienating key allies.
“We need someone who can offer us an agreement,” said Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist party, which is part of a left-wing coalition and was still sorting out how many seats it would win on Monday.
Macron has warned that his left-wing economic policies, with tens of billions of euros of public spending paid for in part by taxing the wealthy and raising taxes on high-income earners, could be disastrous for a France that has already come under fire from the EU’s debt watchdog.
A hung parliament is uncharted territory for modern France, and many people reacted with a mixture of relief and anxiety.
“It’s a great relief because I was very worried about the pollsters and the reports in the media. There are also high expectations,” said Nadine Dupuy, 60, a legal secretary in Paris. “What’s going to happen? How are they going to govern the country?”
The left-center political agreement to block the National Rally was largely successful: many voters considered it most important to keep the far-right out of power, and in the runoff election they supported the far-right opponent, even if he was not from their usual political camp.
“I’m disappointed, I’m disappointed,” said far-right supporter Luc Dumont, 66. “Well, I’m happy to see that we’re making progress, because we’ve been doing well in recent years.”
Le Pen, who is expected to run for France’s presidency for a fourth time in 2027, said the election laid the foundations for tomorrow’s victory.
Racism, anti-Semitism and a Russian disinformation campaign marred the election campaign, with more than 50 candidates reporting physical attacks, highly unusual in France.
Unlike other European countries accustomed to coalition governments, France has no tradition of lawmakers from opposing political camps coming together to form a majority. France is also more centralised than many other European countries, with many decisions made in Paris.
