France’s left-wing leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, claims the left is “ready to govern” after becoming the largest political group in parliament, but the country is at a political standstill because no party gained a clear majority.
The New Popular Front (NFP) alliance led by Mélenchon and its supporters gained multiple seats in France’s National Assembly in the second round of legislative elections on Sunday, gaining 187 of the 577 seats, according to interior ministry estimates.
The vote was a setback for President Emmanuel Macron, whose centrist Ensemble alliance won 159 seats. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal offered to resign on Monday, but Macron requested him to continue “for the time being in order to ensure the country’s stability,” reported Al Jazeera.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies placed third with 142 seats, despite a good first-round performance. The centrist and left parties banded together to obstruct RN from a leading position.
However, the development of the extreme right has concerned people, particularly minorities, since the RN has emerged as a prominent political force.
With none of the top three coalitions securing an outright majority of the 289 members required to form a government, the eurozone’s second-largest economy risks a hung parliament, which is unprecedented in the modern era.
This may prompt Macron to form a weak coalition of moderates from both the left and the right or ask the left-wing NFP party to head the government. Alternatively, he may choose a technocratic administration with no political ties to oversee day-to-day operations.
The fractured results are expected to diminish France’s standing in the European Union and beyond, making it difficult for anybody to advance a domestic agenda.