More than a week after deciding to keep him in office, French President Emmanuel Macron has finally accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government, which will remain in office to manage “current affairs” until a new executive is appointed, at a time when the country is preparing to host the Olympic Games.
“In order to bring this period to a close as quickly as possible, it is up to the republican forces to work together to build a union around projects and actions in the service of the French people,” the Elysée said in a statement.
The president had informed the outgoing Macronist government of the decision during a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, the last one held with full powers before the constitution of the new National Assembly.
Macron had said he would accept the resignation at the end of the day, the meeting participants told AFP. The head of state told them that the government would take care of “managing the current situation” and suggested that this situation could “last for some time”, “a few weeks”, probably until the end of the Olympic Games at least, according to these ministers.
For his part, Attal has affirmed that the government will guarantee “the continuity of the State until the last minute”, particularly in view of the World Cup. The prime minister, who took office just six months ago, becoming the youngest head of government in the history of France, has in recent weeks strengthened his control over the deputies of the party created by Macron and has given signs of beginning to distance himself from the president, showing his disagreement with the early elections.
Attal resigned the morning after the election, but Macron rejected his decision and asked him to remain in office temporarily to ensure “the stability of the country.”
Macron’s move comes so that members of the executive who have been elected in their respective constituencies to occupy a seat in the new lower house can take up their parliamentary posts. The resignation is due to the fact that the French Constitution prevents combining executive posts with parliamentary work and there is not enough time for the elected members of the government to be replaced by their deputies.
The agenda for the first session of the National Assembly following the elections of June 30 and July 7 includes crucial issues such as the election of a new president of the Lower House. Without the prior resignation of the members of the Government, Macronism would lose more than fifteen votes in the Assembly, which, given the fragmented political panorama created by the early elections, without any clear majority, are crucial for the presidential field.
Some of those attending the meeting said that the president had indicated that a possible alliance with the conservative right-wing Les Républiques (LR) would be an option for governability during this legislative period. This is the option that has been defended in recent days by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, and the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, who came to Macronism from the LR.
Meanwhile, tensions are escalating within the French left over the lack of agreement to agree on a prime minister after winning the largest number of seats in the legislative elections. After suspending negotiations, denouncing the blockage by the Socialists, the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) rejected on Tuesday the proposal of its partners in the New Popular Front to propose Laurence Tubiana as prime minister.
“I don’t consider this a serious proposal,” national coordinator Manuel Bompard told France 2.
The national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF), Fabien Roussel, has warned that if the left does not find “a solution in the next few days it will be a real disaster.” In addition to the head of the government, the NFP must try to agree on a name for the presidency of the National Assembly.
With information from EFE
Source: www.eldiario.es
