Macron starts talks on forming a new French government
Kyiv • UNN
French President Macron has begun consultations with political leaders to form a new coalition. The left is proposing Lucie Castet as prime minister, but Macron's forces are leaning toward an alliance with the right.
French President Emmanuel Macron began a series of intense consultations with political leaders on Friday, hoping to put together a ruling coalition after last month's inconclusive election. UNN reports this with reference to AFP.
Details
A full six weeks after the snap election, in which Macron lost his relative parliamentary majority, he has yet to name a new prime minister, whose first important task will be to present the budget plan for next year to the National Assembly.
According to AFP, the talks at the Elysee Palace are scheduled for Friday and Monday with representatives of the entire political spectrum.
Macron's office did not say when the president might make his choice for prime minister, but observers expect him to do so next week.
Whoever is appointed will have to pass a vote of confidence in parliament and submit a draft budget for 2025 to parliament by October 1, the deadline set by law.
The left-wing New People's Front (FNP), which became the largest faction after the election, said it wants 37-year-old economist Lucie Castet to become the new prime minister. However, Macron's forces have not shown much interest in this idea, preferring a potential alliance with the traditional right.
"We came here to remind the president how important it is to respect the results of the elections and to bring the country out of paralysis," Castet said, arriving at the Elysee Palace on Friday, accompanied by other FNP representatives.
She and her allies are ready to find "compromise, given that no one has an absolute majority," and will work to achieve "stability," Castet said.
On the eve of the meeting with Macron, Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the left-wing radical party France Unconquered (LFI), also warned: "We are not going to negotiate with him.
Instead, he said: "We will tell him that there is no alternative to the appointment of Lucy Knuckles."
