Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of the left-wing party “France Unyielding” (LFI), on the night of the election of the left-wing party “France Unyielding” (LFI), preliminary results of the second round of the French legislative elections, held in the Stalingrad Rotunda in Paris React after announcement July 7, 2024.
Sameer Al-doumy | AFP | Getty Images
After the left’s success in France’s general election on Sunday, all eyes are now on radical firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is demanding the left be given the prime ministership and a chance to govern after his surprise win.
The New Popular Front (NFP) coalition – in which Mélenchon is a self-styled figurehead – won the most seats in the second round of France’s snap parliamentary elections. The NFP, made up of Mélan’s far-left French party Unyielding, the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, as well as the Greens, center-left and left-wing political groups, unexpectedly thwarted the advance of the far right and now positions itself as France’s possible leader. .
“The president has the power and the responsibility to call the New Popular Front to power. It is ready,” Mélenchon said on Sunday night after exit polls predicted a victory for the NFP.
Europe braces for France’s far-right to win the most votes in the country’s snap second round of elections. Results show left-wing NFP gaining 180 seats Published by France Info, but still falls short of the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority in the 577-seat National Assembly. French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist “Unite” group came in second with 163 seats, while the far-right National Rally and its allies won 143 seats.
The result means France will face a hung parliament on Monday morning, with a new government, or possibly a technocratic one, facing a difficult road.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says he will resign According to Reuters, Macron’s office said in a statement that after the election results were announced, Macron asked Attal on Monday to temporarily stay as prime minister “to ensure the stability of the country.”
Buoyed by his unexpected electoral victory, Mélenchon insisted that the new prime minister should come from Venezuela. % tax rate.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, a French far-left party and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, attends a political rally in Dijon, France, on April 18, 2017.
Robert Plata | Reuters
Political analysts and economists say Macron is unlikely to put the divisive Mélenchon in the role.
Antonio Barroso, deputy director of research at consultancy Teneo, said: “While tradition dictates that the largest party in parliament, in this case the left-wing NFP, nominates the prime minister, Macron is under no obligation to seek such a choose.
“Mélenchon has said that the new prime minister should come from the NFP. However, the NFP has no leader, and the parties forming the coalition are deeply divided over who to choose.”
Barroso added: “Even if the NFP agrees on a number and Macron appoints such a person, the AN (National Assembly) can easily force the collapse of the new government through a motion of no confidence.”
He added that whoever is nominated as the new prime minister will have to win the support of centrist parties in the lower house of parliament to gain an absolute majority. “The appointment of a radical figure like Mélenchon is therefore out of the question.”
Economists expect centrists to emerge
The expansionary fiscal policies of the left-wing New Popular Front have worried economists since Macron. Early elections were announced last monthafter his party’s defeat in the European Parliament elections in early June.
France already faces a challenging fiscal situation, with the European Commission announcing in June that it intended to place France under excessive deficit procedures due to its failure to keep its budget deficit within 3% of GDP. If the EDP is approved, France will have to submit a revised budget plan by mid-September.
“Mélenchon is less well-known outside French politics than Marine Le Pen (of the far-right National Rally), but he and other leaders of the left-wing coalition have proposed a plan that includes a significant increase in public spending, a reduction in the retirement age and other The policies are inconsistent with the EU and, according to the Montaigne Institute, are not market-friendly and are expected to cost an additional €179 billion ($194 billion).
Armin Steinbach, a professor of law and economics at HEC Paris, said the NFP might choose a candidate for prime minister with broader appeal, such as former President François François, who was in power before Macron from 2012 to 2017. Val Hollande.
“The left bloc has to put forward a proposal from a moderate politician, so it can’t be someone from France who is not yielding, it has to be someone with a moderate position, so someone like (former Socialist President) François Hollande , he has institutional knowledge, so he might be a potential candidate.
Allianz chief economist Ludovic Subran also believes that centrists within the NFP alliance will come to the fore in the upcoming coalition negotiations, and Hollande may become the candidate for prime minister.
“I’m not too worried, I think we are indeed moving towards centre-left policies, the last time France adjusted its deficit was during Francois Hollande’s presidency, so something could happen under a centre-left government, One can see this being positive for France in Europe as well,” he told CNBC’s Charlotte Reid.
