Macron advocates formation of broad, “republican” coalition without left-wing

In his first statement after the legislative elections that gave victory to the left-wing party, the New Popular Front (NFP, in French), and which stopped the rise of the far right in the country. Rejecting the expressive victory of the NFP, French President Emmanuel Macron stated this Wednesday (10) that “no one won” the elections, highlighting the fact that no party achieved a majority in the National Assembly.

The president took two whole days to break his silence after the end of the second round, which gave the NFP a relative majority, with 182 deputies, out of a total of 577. The coalition led by the French president, Juntos, was the second most voted with 168 seats won, ahead of the National Rally (RN, in the French acronym), Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, which secured 143 seats.

“No political force alone has obtained a sufficient majority and the blocs and coalitions that emerged from these elections are all minorities,” the president highlighted. “Only the republican forces represent an absolute majority,” he added.

He also said that the people clearly rejected the arrival of the extreme right to power and that it is necessary to build a solid and plural majority.

The Macronist strategy aims to isolate Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise (LFI) party, the main political force of the NFP. Macron uses a false equivalence to compare the LFI and the RN.

In a letter to the French people, Macron called on traditional parties with “republican values” to form a governing coalition and said he hoped to choose a prime minister from such a grouping.

“We will place our hope in the ability of our political leaders to demonstrate common sense, harmony and calm in their interest and in the interest of the country,” he wrote. “It is in the light of these principles that I will decide on the appointment of the prime minister.”

Macron’s mention of “republican values” is a signal that the French president will not accept the election results and will try to boycott the formation of a left-wing government.

“Macron took the decision to dissolve the National Assembly. He decided alone and must now assume the consequences. Institutional logic dictates that he call us [para formar o novo governo]”, countered Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the Ecologists, one of the NFP parties.

Also on Wednesday, Mélenchon urged Macron to begin the process of forming a new government by consulting the left-wing coalition on issues related to France in NATO.

“The man who dissolved the National Assembly is not calling on anyone to form a government. It’s Wednesday, three days since we knew the results of the elections,” Mélenchon said. “There is no sign that there is any intention to initiate a response to the situation.”