French President Emmanuel Macron will next week convene party leaders for a series of consultations, the Elysée Palace said Friday, August 16, in a bid to break political deadlock and form a government following snap elections. Weeks after legislative elections which produced an Assemblée Nationale with no clear majority, France still does not have a new prime minister.
Macron said in July he would seek to name a new prime minister after the Paris Olympics, which ended on August 11, stressing that parties in a fractured parliament must come together to build a broad coalition first. While the successful Olympic Games have lifted what was a morose mood in France, analysts say that it is far from certain this could boost Macron's embattled fortunes.
On Friday, the Elysée presidential office said Macron invited party leaders to take part in "a series of discussions" on August 23, with a view to attempting to form a government. "The appointment of a prime minister will follow on from these consultations and their conclusions," the presidency said in a statement. Noting that the French people had expressed "a desire for change and broad unity," the Elysée hopes that the consultations will help move towards "the broadest and most stable majority possible."
In late July, Macron dismissed a left-wing alliance's push to name a new prime minister. The left-wing Nouveau Front Populair, which emerged as the largest faction post-election, has said it wants the Paris City Hall's director of finances, Lucie Castets, 37, to be the new premier.
The government of Macron's allies, under Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, has carried on in a caretaker capacity throughout the Games.
In June, Macron shocked the nation by dissolving the Assemblée Nationale and calling snap elections. The 577 seats are now divided between three similarly-sized blocs.