Macron holds talks on naming new PM

Seven weeks after a surprise snap election, French President Emmanuel Macron has begun consultations at the Elysee Palace to resolve the ensuing political crisis and to appoint a new prime minister.

In the July elections, no party won an outright majority in the National Assembly, resulting in a hung parliament. Outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has been leading a caretaker government that managed the country through the Paris Olympics.

The next prime minister will face significant challenges, including securing parliamentary approval for the 2025 budget, especially as France faces pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit.

Opposition figures have strongly criticized Macron for the delay, with some describing his approach as "a denial of democracy".

After extensive discussions, the left-wing New Popular Front, or NFP, the largest group after the election — announced they want 37-year-old economist Lucie Castets as the new prime minister.

The meeting between Macron and the NFP on Friday morning lasted about an hour and a half, French media reported. On arrival at the Elysee Palace, Castets stressed the importance of respecting the election results and proposed a solution based on stability.

After the meeting, Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party and part of the left alliance, said Macron had not provided a "specific date "for appointing a government but assured that it would happen soon.

He also said there would be no division within the NFP. It is up to the leading coalition to form a government and find compromises.

Later on Friday, Macron met with representatives from his centrist Ensemble alliance, the conservative Republicans, or LR. After the meeting, Annie Genevard from the LR rejected the idea of a coalition with any other parties.

Macron also discussed with the Liot group, which includes members of parliament from the center-left, center and center-right, as well as the radical Left group. However, none of these groups made any public statements after their consultations with Macron.

Meeting with Le Pen

On Monday, the president hosted far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen for rare talks, AFP reported. The three-time National Rally, or RN, presidential candidate called after the meeting for an extraordinary session of parliament so MPs would be able to immediately depose any new government in a confidence vote.

"I don't want a prime minister to have a month to implement by decree a toxic policy that would be dangerous for the French people," Le Pen said.

Laurent Jacobelli, an MP and spokesman for the RN, has told French TV BFM that his party would censure any government that includes hard-left France Unbowed or Green ministers. "Those who abuse democracy have no place at Matignon or in any ministry," he said on Friday. Matignon refers to the official residence of the French prime minister.

Another RN lawmaker, Julien Odoul, told Radio Monte Carlo on Friday that he believes it is impossible to govern France "without the National Rally" and the "11 million French people" who voted for the RN, emphasizing they "are not second-class citizens".

Beyond the RN, Macron's alliance and the LR also threatened to censure any government that includes ministers from France Unbowed.

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed, has been playing a strategic game. Speaking on French national TV TF1 on Saturday, he challenged "the leaders of the three Macronist parties and the right", asking whether they would renounce censure of a Castets government if it did not include any France Unbowed ministers.

"If you say no, we'll know the real issue isn't the presence of (France Unbowed) ministers but the NFP program itself," he added.

Faure said Melenchon is setting the stage for France Unbowed to support a Castets government without participating directly. "The excuse of (France Unbowed) ministers' presence no longer holds."

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.