Emmanuel Macron has never expressed the slightest regret. On Monday, July 8, in front of Renaissance executives and party leaders from his camp invited to the Elysée, the French president showed no remorse over his decision to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale. A move that so wounded his own people. "The turnout [in the parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7] shows that the dissolution met a need for democratic expression," a source at the Elysée said.
The day after the second round of this early election, the "clarification" operation that the head of state had hoped for had all the hallmarks of a fiasco. Macron's camp lost more than 80 MPs (168 seats versus 250 in the previous legislature), and no clear majority emerged. Although the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) took the most seats (182), the left-wing alliance cannot govern alone. But the worst, a cohabitation with the far right, once envisaged, has been avoided, a relief for the Elysée. A "very clear no has been sent to the Rassemblement National [RN, far right]," stressed the president's entourage.
It is therefore with an almost light heart that Macron is due to fly to Washington on July 10, to attend the NATO summit and the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Atlantic alliance. The French leader does not want to believe that he will emerge weakened on the international stage after this episode. "A majority in the Assemblée is in favor of clear support for Ukraine," his staff pointed out. "France rejected extremism, [American] Democrats will reject it too," hailed American President Joe Biden, on MSNBC on July 8, four months ahead of his own country's elections.
Relief is palpable at the top of the French government. But how to govern? The issue, already complex before the dissolution, now seems hopeless. "If the RN had won a majority, we can't say it would have been good news, but at least it would have had the merit of clarity," said Hervé Marseille, head of the center-right Union des Démocrates et Indépendants party and a Macorn ally. The political landscape is foggy. Too much for Emmanuel Macron to let his prime minister go. On Monday, Gabriel Attal's resignation was immediately rejected, with Macron urging him to stay on "for the moment" in order to preserve the country's "stability." The prime minister will have to manage current affairs until a replacement has been appointed.
This may prevent Attal from running for president of the Renaissance group in the Assemblée or claiming a key position in the chamber. It doesn't matter. Attal's staff stresses his "sense of duty." And they hope that this transitional period will not last forever.
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