{"id":90547,"date":"2024-07-08T19:33:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T19:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/08\/france-is-not-used-to-coalition-governments-does-it-have-a-choice\/"},"modified":"2024-07-08T19:33:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T19:33:21","slug":"france-is-not-used-to-coalition-governments-does-it-have-a-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/08\/france-is-not-used-to-coalition-governments-does-it-have-a-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"France Is Not Used to Coalition Governments. Does It Have a Choice?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/08\/multimedia\/08france-government-explainer-01-hmjk\/08france-government-explainer-01-hmjk-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"France Is Not Used to Coalition Governments. Does It Have a Choice?\" title=\"France Is Not Used to Coalition Governments. Does It Have a Choice?\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When President Emmanuel Macron defended his decision last month to call snap legislative elections, he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/12\/world\/europe\/macron-france-elections.html?searchResultPosition=2\" title=\"\">argued<\/a> repeatedly that France needed a \u201cclarification\u201d of its political situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But on Monday, after the French cast their final ballots, the situation was anything but clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A nationwide vote for the 577 seats in the National Assembly, the country\u2019s more powerful house of Parliament, has not <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/07\/world\/europe\/france-election-results-left-surges.html\" title=\"\">produced a working majority<\/a>. Instead, it has left unanswered the questions of who might be France\u2019s next prime minister, who might form the country\u2019s next government, and where the country is headed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here\u2019s what you need to know about what comes next.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-42c95302\">What are the results?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Three large blocs have emerged from the elections \u2014 none big enough to govern alone, all of them possibly too antagonistic to work together. None has reached the threshold for an absolute majority, 289 seats, which would enable them to form a government that could survive no-confidence votes by their rivals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The New Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing parties including the Greens, the Communists, the Socialists and the hard-left France Unbowed party, came in first with about 180 seats in the National Assembly. Mr. Macron and his centrist allies came in second, with about 160 lawmakers, and the far-right, anti-immigration National Rally party and its allies trailed, with about 140 lawmakers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The country\u2019s two-round electoral system \u2014 an early vote and a runoff \u2014 usually produces absolute majorities dominated by a single party that is aligned with the president and forms the government. So Sunday\u2019s result was unusual.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-35a3a5dd\">Coalition? Chaos? What happens next?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt&#8217;s a jump into the unknown,\u201d said Olivier Costa, a research professor at the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po University in Paris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One possibility raised before the election \u2014 when pollsters were predicting a much stronger showing for the far right \u2014 was a cohabitation. That happens when a rival party to the president\u2019s wins an absolute majority. The president is then all but forced to pick a prime minister from that party or face the threat of successive no-confidence votes for his or her nominee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"> While it is quite likely that Mr. Macron might have to appoint someone outside his party, none of his opponents have the majority to immediately force his hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">New Popular Front leaders insist that because they came in first, Mr. Macron should appoint someone from their ranks as prime minister; that person would then name a cabinet. But the party and its allies are about 100 lawmakers short of the absolute majority needed to safely survive no-confidence votes by other parties in the current polarized political landscape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It is very unlikely that Mr. Macron would pick someone from the far-right National Rally or the far-left France Unbowed, both parties that he has labeled \u201cextremes\u201d and that other political groups have flatly ruled out working with. He could try to reach out to parties within the New Popular Front that have some common ground with his centrist alliance, but those parties have shown little appetite for working with him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Macron could theoretically appoint anyone \u2014 even someone who is not a lawmaker \u2014 as long as the person reflected a political consensus in the National Assembly.<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>Some analysts and politicians have suggested the idea of a broad coalition that involves parties within the three main blocs that could agree on a prime minister and a limited political agenda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But that is not so easy right now. \u201cNone of the political forces have much interest in working with one another, because France\u2019s parties are mainly designed to groom presidential candidates,\u201d Mr. Costa said, noting that many of Mr. Macron\u2019s rivals and allies were already laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2027, when Mr. Macron must step down. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One other possibility that has been floated is a nonpartisan cabinet of experts that would run the country while a coalition deal is hammered out, but that solution is very unfamiliar to the French.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-107e6775\">Is the clock ticking?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Legally speaking, no. There is no deadline mandated by the Constitution to appoint a prime minister and form a government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gabriel Attal, Mr. Macron\u2019s current prime minister, offered his resignation on Monday, as is customary after legislative elections. But Mr. Macron asked him to stay for the time being to ensure \u201cstability,\u201d the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Attal might stay on at least to handle the business of running the country during the Paris Summer Olympics, which end Aug. 11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But sustained gridlock will seriously hamper France\u2019s ability to pass a budget in the fall and to enact any important legislation. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Could Mr. Macron get out of this morass by calling a new election? Not anytime soon. The Constitution dictates that the president has to wait at least a year after a snap election to call another one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That means the newly elected National Assembly will be in place at least until then and lawmakers can file multiple no-confidence motions without worrying about a threat to send them back to the polls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/08\/world\/europe\/france-election-whats-next.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When President Emmanuel Macron defended his decision last month to call snap legislative elections, he argued repeatedly that France needed a \u201cclarification\u201d of its political situation. But on Monday, after the French cast their final ballots, the situation was anything but clear. A nationwide vote for the 577 seats in the National Assembly, the country\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/08\/multimedia\/08france-government-explainer-01-hmjk\/08france-government-explainer-01-hmjk-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4336,34807,9403,12097],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90547"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90547"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90549,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90547\/revisions\/90549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}