President Emmanuel Macron will wait until Friday before announcing his choice for France’s next prime minister, according to the Elysée Palace, in a bid to end months of political unrest.
Eight days after French MPs ousted Michel Barnier as prime minister in a vote of no confidence, Macron cut short a visit to Poland on Thursday and was expected to come up with a new name upon his return.
But after landing at Villacoublay air base near Paris, his entourage said an explanation would not be made until Friday morning.
French politics have been at an impasse since Macron called early parliamentary elections this summer, and if he appoints a new prime minister it will be his fourth this year.
A poll for BFMTV showed on Thursday that 61% of French voters were concerned about the political situation.
Although Macron had indicated that a decision would be made by the end of Thursday, followers of French politics have grown accustomed to the president’s desire to act as master of watches – master of bells.
Macron has pledged to remain in office until his second term ends in 2027, despite Barnier’s demise last week.
He has already held roundtable discussions with leaders of all major political parties, with the exception of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed (LFI) and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
He must form a government that will not be brought down like Barnier’s in the National Assembly.
It is thought that he will either try to bring centre-left parties into government or make a pact so that they do not also oust the next prime minister.
The former Brexit negotiator was voted out when Le Pen’s National Rally joined left-wing MPs in rejecting his plans for €60 billion in tax cuts and spending increases. He sought to reduce France’s budget deficit, which is expected to reach 6.1% of economic output (GDP) this year.
Among the favorites to replace Barnier, who was prime minister for just three months, were centrist MoDem leader François Bayrou, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and center-left ex-prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
In the political system of the Fifth Republic of France, the president is elected for five years and then appoints a prime minister, whose cabinet choice is then appointed by the president.
Unusually, President Macron called early parliamentary elections this summer, following poor results in June’s EU elections. The outcome left France in a political stalemate, with three major political blocs consisting of left, center and far right.
Ultimately, he chose Michel Barnier to form a minority government dependent on Marine Le Pen’s National Rally for its survival. But now that that has fallen, Macron hopes to restore stability without being dependent on her party.
Marine Le Pen withdrew her support from the previous government and backed a left-wing vote of no confidence [Getty Images]
Three centre-left parties – the Socialists, the Greens and the Communists – have broken ranks with the more radical left-wing LFI and have taken part in talks to form a new government.
However, they have made it clear that they want to see a left-wing prime minister of their choice if they join a broad-based government.
“I told you I wanted someone from the left and from the Greens, and I think Mr Bayrou is not one or the other,” Greens leader Marine Tondelier told French television on Thursday, adding that she did not see how the centrist camp that lost the parliamentary elections could take the post of Prime Minister and maintain the same policies.
However, she also said that she was not in favor of Bernard Cazeneuve, even though he was a socialist: “The only times he spoke about us was to criticize us. He cannot represent us.”
Relations between the centre-left and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical LFI appear to have broken down following the three parties’ decision to continue talks with President Macron.
After the LFI leader called on his former allies to avoid a coalition deal, the Socialists’ Olivier Faure told French television that “the more Mélenchon shouts, the less he is heard.”
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen has called for her party’s policies on the cost of living to be taken into account by the new government, by drawing up a budget that “does not cross the red lines of each party.”
The interim government of Michel Barnier has submitted a bill to extend the provisions from the 2024 budget to next year. But a replacement budget for 2025 will have to be approved once the next government takes office.
