Having failed to secure an overall majority in the National Assembly, the French president is striving to shun a possible political deadlock in the way of his second-term reform plans.
French President Emmanuel Macron will host far-right leader Marine Le Pen and other political party chiefs in a bid to break the impasse created by the failure of his coalition to win a majority in parliamentary elections.
Tuesday's meetings, which will also include talks with right-wing, Socialist and Communist party chiefs, are the first attempts by Macron to extract himself from a situation that risks wrecking his second-term reform plans.
Macron is due to start the discussions by talking with Christian Jacob, the head of the traditional right-wing the Republicans (LR).
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure and Communist Party boss Fabien Roussel of the NUPES left-wing alliance will also meet Macron, although the far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon is not scheduled to do so.
And in a rare encounter, Macron will host Marine Le Pen at 1530 GMT (17:30 Paris time), his rival in presidential elections and leader of the far-right National Rally (RN).
The aim is to "build solutions to serve the French" at a time when there is no "alternative majority" to that of Macron's ruling alliance, said a presidential official who asked not to be named.
'Not ungovernable'
The result of the parliamentary elections was a stunning blow for Macron and his reform agenda, leaving his camp facing the prospect of a political deadlock.
While Macron's Ensemble (Together) coalition won 244 seats to remain the largest party after Sunday's National Assembly elections, it fell dozens of seats short of the 289 needed for keeping an overall majority.
The left-leaning Liberation daily called the results a "slap in the face" for Macron, while the conservative Figaro said he was now "faced with an ungovernable France".
The election saw NUPES become the main opposition force along with its allies on 137 seats, according to interior ministry figures.
Meanwhile the far-right under Le Pen posted the best legislative performance in its history, becoming the strongest single opposition party with 89 seats, up from eight in the outgoing chamber.
"The country is not ungovernable, but it's not going to be governed the way Emmanuel Macron wanted," Le Pen told reporters on Monday.
The options available to Macron range from seeking to form a new coalition alliance, passing legislation based on ad hoc agreements, or even calling new elections.
One option would be an alliance with the Republicans, which has 61 MPs. But LR president Jacob has insisted his party intends to "stay in opposition".
Source: AFP
Social media is bold.
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure
0 Comments