The left-wing coalition that won the most seats in France’s early elections faced a split on Monday after its main parties announced they were suspending negotiations with others after failing to reach an agreement on a prime ministerial nominee.
Just a week after the election, the fragile unity within the New Popular Front (NFP) fell apart after Remain France (LFI) accused the Socialist party (PS) of using “unacceptable methods” to reject proposals on who should lead the new government.
The rift came at the start of a crucial week following the resignation of Emmanuel Macron’s government and the fact that lawmakers are set to vote on Thursday to appoint a new speaker of the National Assembly, the country’s equivalent to the speaker of the lower house.
The LFI said on Monday it would not resume talks on forming a government or agreeing on a prime ministerial candidate until the coalition had a candidate to lead the lower house.
In an angry statement, The LFI accused the PS of playing into Mr Macron’s hands and plunging his left-wing coalition into a “stalemate”, with his centre-right Ensemble coalition relegating the far-right Rally National (RN) to third place.
“Is the PS waiting for the NFP to collapse before abandoning the policies it campaigned on? We will not allow this impasse to further the President’s agenda,” the statement read.
Macron has said he will not work with a government led by the LFI, and both it and the RN have said they would launch a vote of no confidence if the other side takes power.
“The PS has chosen to reject any candidacy. [for prime minister] “LFI’s sole objective is to withdraw from the NFP and impose its own policies, which it claims are the only policies acceptable to President Emmanuel Macron, thus making him the decision maker of the alliance, even though the alliance was formed in opposition to the president and his policies,” the LFI statement said.
He added: “This approach is unacceptable. We demand that the Speaker of the National Assembly immediately agree to nominate a single candidate from the New Popular Front. Until then, we will not take part in any discussions on forming a government.”
After newsletter promotion
The parliamentary elections, called by President Macron following the RN’s victory in the European elections, were meant to “clarify” the political situation in France, but just a week ago the results showed the emergence of three equal-sized coalitions, none of which have won or are likely to form a majority.
French trade union leaders have accused Macron of hijacking democracy and called for protests and strikes in front of parliaments and government offices across France at noon on Thursday.
