French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was scheduled to retire but remain in charge of a caretaker government on Tuesday, sources say, with no alternative in sight as divided parliamentary groupings descend to infighting.
President Emmanuel Macron is expected to accept Attal’s resignation following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the first since his allies were soundly defeated in an emergency National Assembly election called to “clarify” the political situation.
But he was also likely to urge the prime minister and his team to serve as a caretaker government with limited powers until after the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
This would also allow political parties more time to form a governing coalition following the July 7 election runoff, which resulted in the National Assembly lacking an overall majority.
The New Popular Front (NFP), a broad alliance of Socialists, Communists, Greens, and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), won the most seats in the lower chamber, with 193 out of 577.
Macron’s allies came in second with 164 seats, followed by the far-right National Rally (RN) in third with 143.
The split NFP alliance has been trying to find a consensus candidate for Prime Minister.
However, internal tensions, particularly between the LFI and the more moderate Socialists, have stymied all efforts to find a figure capable of surviving a confidence vote in parliament.
‘Shameful’
Huguette Bello, 73, a former communist MP and president of the regional council in France’s overseas territory La Reunion, who was supported by the other left-wing parties, saw her ambitions dashed over the weekend by the Socialists.
The LFI, in turn, rejected Laurence Tubiana, an economist and climate specialist with no political affiliations who was supported by the Socialists, Communists, and Green Party.
Leftist deputy Francois Ruffin termed the NFP’s infighting “shameful” on Tuesday, while Green delegate Sandrine Rousseau said the disagreements made her “very angry”.
On Saturday, Attal was elected head of his party’s National Assembly delegation, while he considers his own future outside of government, stating that he will “contribute to the emergence of a majority concerning projects and ideas”.
According to analysts, Macron and Attal are still expecting to secure a right-of-center majority in parliament that would exclude both the LFI and the far-right RN from any new alliance.
After resigning, Attal and the other cabinet members will be free to assume their seats in parliament and participate in any coalition-building efforts.
Parliament will reopen on Thursday, with the National Assembly speaker and other crucial seats being filled first.
Cracks have surfaced between Attal and his erstwhile mentor Macron, whom the prime minister appears to blame for the electoral defeat just six months after becoming France’s youngest ever head of government at the age of 34.
Macron still has nearly three years as president before elections in 2027, when far-right leader Marine Le Pen is anticipated to make another run for office.