After nearly two months of impasse following inconclusive legislative elections, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday stepped up attempts to select a new prime minister, hosting two past presidents and two prospective contenders.
Since the polls on July 7, which produced a hung parliament with Macron’s centrists and the far-right making up the two main factions, France has been without a permanent administration.
Macron was having separate discussions with two potential prime ministers: right-wing former minister Xavier Bertrand and centre-left former premier Bernard Cazeneuve.
In keeping with the custom of consulting predecessors at critical junctures, Macron met on Monday at the Elysee with the two remaining former presidents, socialist Francois Hollande and right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy.
Macron has rejected the nomination of a left-wing prime minister, much to the indignation of the left, on the grounds that such a person would not stand a chance against a motion of confidence in parliament.
To the increasing annoyance of his opponents, Macron, who has only been in office for less than three years, has happily squandered time during the political impasse while the Olympics and Paralympics were happening.
However, Macron welcomed Cazeneuve, a former top socialist who led the cabinet in the latter months of Hollande’s 2012–17 presidential term, early on Monday, according to an AFP journalist, amid indications of a pick-up as France returned from vacation.
Though many believe Cazeneuve is the person Macron is most likely to choose, his appointment is by no means assured. His appointment is “a possibility but it is not a certainty… an option but we must look closely,” an unnamed Macron-affiliated source told AFP.
Cazeneuve, 61, is well-liked by politicians of all stripes and served as interior minister for many years, including during the horrific 2015 Paris attacks.
Unimpressed, the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) promised to try and remove him from office.
“I don’t think he’s worth it. “He is a product of the past,” stated Mathilde Panot, leader of the group of MPs.
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