Emmanuel Macron has been tipped to accept the resignation of Gabriel Attal, his embattled Prime Minister, within days – with two names already being floated as possible replacements.
Mr Attal offered to quit on Monday in the wake of Sunday’s nationwide elections which resulted in a three-way split between the left-wing Popular Front, Mr Macron’s centrist Ensemble Alliance and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
Popular Front emerged as the largest single group , with 182 seats. Ensemble alliance won 163, and National Rally took 143.
The results guarantee a stormy final three years as President for Mr Macron, with no single group anywhere near an overall majority in the 577-seat National Assembly, France’s equivalent of the House of Commons.
It is unprecedented in France’s modern history to have a fractured parliament – with the consequent risk of paralysis for the European Union’s second-largest economy.
Mr Attal offered to quit – but was asked by Mr Macron to continue handling day-to-day affairs, less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Popular Front’s three main parties – the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens — began negotiations to find a candidate for prime minister.
The coalition in a statement called on Macron to “immediately turn to the New Popular Front” and allow it to form a government, arguing the “prolonged retention” of Attal could be seen as an attempt to erase the election results.
The statement added: “We solemnly warn the president of the republic against any attempts to hijack the institutions.
“If the president continues to ignore the results it will amount to betrayal of our constitution and a coup against democracy, which we will strongly oppose.”
Writing on X, French journalist Jean-Jerome Bertolus said: “According to several government sources, Gabriel Attal’s resignation will be accepted by the President on 17 July at which point the government will then limit itself to current affairs.
“The deputy ministers will then be able to sit on the 18th and Gabriel Attal will head the Renaissance group.”
Also posting on X, former minister Yves Jego suggested Jean-Louis Borloo, who served in government under Nicolas Sarkozy, despite him having quit frontline politics a decade ago, describing him as “the most left-wing of the right-wing men”.
James Cheron, the mayor of Montereau, agreed, saying: “Hailed by the right and the left as a centrist, liberal ecologist, Borloo has worked with Chirac, Sarkozy and Hollande.
“He can’t be labelled a Macronist while at the same time he can be a demanding partner.”
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure on Tuesday said he was “ready to take on” the role of Prime Minister, insisting that he would only do so “in dialogue with (his) partners” in the New Popular Front (NFP).
Pierre Jouvet, the party’s General Secretary, said Mr Faure was the only figure capable of “reassuring everyone”.
He added: “We need a person that is calming, that has experience in Parliament, that will respect the programme of the New Popular Front, and that will be respected by the other forces in the alliance.”
The leftist coalition includes France’s former Socialist President Francois Hollande, who has made an unexpected comeback on the political stage as one of the most prominent candidates in the elections, winning a seat in his hometown.
He is seen as a key player but did not speak to journalists as he joined fellow members of the Socialist party. It was not immediately clear whether he too is a contender to become PM.
The New Popular Front “is the leading Republican force in this country and it is therefore its responsibility to form a government … to implement the public policies expected by the French people,” Green lawmaker Cyrielle Chatelain declared.
Talks within the leftist coalition are complicated by internal divisions now that the goal for its hurried formation in recent days – keeping the far right from power in France – has been achieved.
Some are pushing for a hard-left figure for prime minister, while others closer to the centre-left prefer a more consensual personality.
France’s prime minister is accountable to parliament and can be ousted through a no-confidence vote.
Left-wing politician Mathilde Panot said: “France Unbowed lawmakers are going into the National Assembly not as an opposition force … but as a force that intends to govern the country.”
The top negotiator for the Socialist party, Johanna Rolland, has said the future prime minister will not be Jean-Luc Melenchon, the divisive hard-left founder of France Unbowed who has angered many moderates. Mr Melenchon, who did not run in the legislative elections, joined the talks at the National Assembly.
Speaking on France 2 television, Rolland suggested the leftist coalition could work with centre-left members of Macron’s alliance.
