Emmanuel Macron returned to the negotiating table on Friday to appoint a new prime minister six weeks after France’s failed snap election.
The French president began meeting with party leaders from the Left, Centre and Right with the aim of naming a new prime minister.
An Elysee office official said: “Faced with this parliament of minority [parties], there is a need for political leaders to get along with each other.” The election “forces everyone to change tack and enter into a coalition logic”, he added.
Whoever Mr Macron names will face a tough job, with parliamentary approval of the 2025 budget one of many challenges at a time when France is under pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit.
Who will become prime minister – and whether they can get a hung parliament to back any reforms – is still very much an open question.
Mr Macron’s gamble to call the snap parliamentary election backfired, with his centrist coalition losing dozens of seats in the June 30 and July 7 ballots, which delivered a hung parliament.
Gabriel Attal, the outgoing prime minister, steered France through the Paris Olympics in a caretaker role. But the break is over and a successor must be named.