Wat-Not Staff
French President Emmanuel Macron denies naming a new government until the 2024 Paris Olympics end.
It comes after the New Popular Front (NFP), a left-wing alliance that now holds the majority of seats in France’s parliament following recent elections, nominated a little-known civil servant, Lucie Castets, for prime minister.
Emmanuel Macron claimed that any new appointment before mid-august may result in the creation of disorder and unstability. This decision has led to left wing politicians claiming that he is trying to cancel the legitimate election results.
The Olympics begin on Friday in the heart of Paris with an opening ceremony, and they end on August 11th.
After their centrist party suffered significant defeats in the parliamentary elections that completed at the beginning of this month, Mr. Macron accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
But Mr. Attal and his colleagues decided to continue as a caretaker administration until successors could be chosen.
In the French system, a prime minister who can command a majority in the National Assembly is generally appointed by the president.
While no party currently holds a majority, the NFP is in the best position to nominate a candidate because it holds at least 182 of the 577 seats.Following weeks of talks and just one hour before Mr. Macron was scheduled to appear on television, the group nominated Ms. Castets on Tuesday, highlighting her track record of defending public services.
Ms. Castets is a 37-year-old civil servant and economist who is the City of Paris’s director of purchasing and finance. She has no prior experience in party politics.The prime minister is typically a serving member of the National Assembly, therefore this choice is unique.Writing on X, Ms Castets said it was “with great humility but also great conviction” that she accepted the nomination.
“Until mid-August, we’re in no position to change things, because it would create disorder.” Says French Prsident
When asked about the NFP’s proposal during an interview with national public broadcaster France 2, Mr Macron said: “This is not the issue. The name is not the issue. The issue is: Which majority can emerge at the assembly?
“Of course we need to be concentrated on the Games until mid-August.
“Until mid-August, we’re in no position to change things, because it would create disorder.”
He also said no parliamentary group had emerged from the elections with a majority and that it was not yet certain which would be in a position to appoint a prime minister.He said he would seek to appoint a prime minister with the “broadest backing possible”.
Mr. Macrons’s comments caused some angry feedbacks from NFP members.
Marine Tondelier said that Macron must ‘Come out of Denial’.
Marine Tondelier, national secretary of The Ecologists, one of the constituent parties of the group, said Mr Macron “must come out of denial”.
“We won, we have a program, we have a prime minister,” she wrote on X.
“Our voters now expect the social justice and environmental justice measures they asked for to be put into practice.“The president can’t block them like this.”
Manuel Bompard, national coordinator of France Unbowed, accused him of trying to “cancel the result of the legislative elections”.He claimed “This is an unbearable denial of democracy,In France, there is no presidential veto when the people express their will”.
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