PARIS: France’s political parties scrambled Friday to break a parliamentary deadlock brought on by an inconclusive snap election, as the outgoing prime minister vowed to prevent any government with far-right or hard-left members.
A runoff Sunday left the National Assembly without any overall majority, but a broad alliance of Socialists, Communists, Greens and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) won the most seats, with 193 in the 577-strong lower chamber.
Voters from different camps joined forces in the second round to shut the far-right National Rally (RN) out of power in a “republican front,” allowing President Emmanuel Macron’s followers to claim second place with 164 seats and leaving the far right in third at 143.
With each of the three blocs controlling roughly one-third of the chamber, political leaders are admitting it may be a long slog to find a government able to survive a no-confidence vote.
Macron has rejected LFI demands they should be tasked with forming the next government, appearing to rule out a role for either LFI — the largest player in the New Popular Front (NFP) left alliance — or the far-right RN in any new coalition.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal echoed that stance Friday saying that he would seek “to guard against any government” that included RN or LFI ministers.
In a document outlining his bid to take the leadership of the Macron-allied “Renaissance” parliamentary group, Attal acknowledged it had “narrowly escaped extinction” in the vote.
As party group leader, Attal said he would “completely revise our methods and our organization.”
Attal, the only candidate to take over the Renaissance parliamentary leadership, said he hoped to “contribute to the emergence of a majority concerning projects and ideas” in the future parliament.
Renaissance deputies are to elect their new leader on Saturday. If voted in, Attal said he would rename the formation “Together for the Republic.”
The document, seen by AFP, made no mention of Macron, with reports suggesting that Attal is distancing himself from his former mentor, blaming Macron’s decision to dissolve parliament and call the election for the political quagmire.
Under the French constitution Macron, who has just under three years left of his second presidential term, will appoint the next prime minister.
The nominee must be able to garner enough support to negotiate the first hurdle, a confidence vote in the National Assembly.
There is, meanwhile, a good chance that the current government remains in place until after the Paris Olympic Games which open on July 26, according to political observers.
The leftist NFP, which had initially promised to suggest a candidate for prime minister to Macron by the end of the week, on Friday acknowledged that it probably wouldn’t be able to.
“I’d rather not set a deadline,” said LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard, telling the TF1 broadcaster that “more time may be needed for discussions.”
Green party boss Marine Tondelier said the problem was that “everybody claims that they are the biggest group” which she said showed that vote size was perhaps not “the most important criterion.”
A source within the Socialist party who declined to be named said the LFI had put forward four names, including that of firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon who is unacceptable to all other parties, and controversial even among LFI members.
The Socialists themselves are pushing for their party’s boss, Olivier Faure, who they say would be acceptable as prime minister to a broad range of deputies from the left to center-right.
“Faure or Melenchon? That’s the real question,” remarked a Socialist official who declined to be named.
The head of the RN, Marine Le Pen, has already threatened that her deputies would reject any government that included LFI or Green ministers.
The RN’s vice president Sebastien Chenu meanwhile said that he saw “no satisfactory solution” to the current standoff “except a kind of technocratic government without political affiliation.”
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France seeks government as PM vows to ‘guard against’ extremes
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France seeks government as PM vows to ‘guard against’ extremes
- Voters from different camps joined forces in the second round to shut the far-right National Rally (RN) out of power in a “republican front“
- Macron has rejected LFI demands they should be tasked with forming the next government
Portugal fears disruption in first general strike in 12 years
LISBON: Portugal braced on Thursday for its first general strike in 12 years, as unions urge action against the right-wing minority government’s planned workers’ rights reforms.
Widespread disruption is expected for public transport, schools, courts and hospitals, as workers protest against a draft law aiming to simplify firing procedures, extend the length of fixed-term contracts and expand the minimum services required during a strike.
The walk-out is expected to be Portugal’s largest since June 2013, when the country was forced to gut public spending in exchange for international aid after being engulfed by a debt crisis that affected several European nations.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro insisted that the labor reforms, with more than 100 measures, were intended to “stimulate economic growth and pay better salaries.”
But the communist-leaning CGTP and more moderate UGT unions have lambasted the plans.
The CGTP is organizing about 20 demonstrations across the country. Its secretary general Tiago Oliveira called the reforms “among the biggest attacks on the world of work.” He told AFP the government action would “normalize job insecurity,” “deregulate working hours” and “make dismissals easier.”
Out of a working population of some five million people, around 1.3 million are already in insecure positions, Oliveira said.
- ‘Already a success’ -
Private sector unions are set to join the action.
The TAP Air Portugal national airline expects just a third of its 250 usual flights to get off the ground, while the national railway company has warned the disruption could spill over into Friday.
With Portugal set to elect a new president in early 2026, Oliveira said he considered the strike was “already a success” as it had drawn public attention to the government labor reforms.
“Without a doubt, we’ll have a great general strike,” the union leader added.
Public opinion is largely behind the action, with 61 percent of those polled in favor of the walk-out, according to a survey published in the Portuguese press.
On the eve of the strike, Montenegro said he hoped “that the country will function as normally as possible... because the rights of some must not infringe on the rights of others.”
Although his right-wing party lacks a majority in parliament, Montenegro’s government should be able to force the bill through with the support of the liberals — and the far right, which has become the second-largest political force in Portugal.
The left-wing opposition has accused Montenegro’s camp of not telling voters that workers’ rights roll-backs were on the cards while campaigning for the last parliamentary elections.
Although Portugal has recorded economic growth of around two percent and a historically low unemployment rate of some six percent, the prime minister has argued that the country should take advantage of the favorable climate to push through reforms.
Widespread disruption is expected for public transport, schools, courts and hospitals, as workers protest against a draft law aiming to simplify firing procedures, extend the length of fixed-term contracts and expand the minimum services required during a strike.
The walk-out is expected to be Portugal’s largest since June 2013, when the country was forced to gut public spending in exchange for international aid after being engulfed by a debt crisis that affected several European nations.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro insisted that the labor reforms, with more than 100 measures, were intended to “stimulate economic growth and pay better salaries.”
But the communist-leaning CGTP and more moderate UGT unions have lambasted the plans.
The CGTP is organizing about 20 demonstrations across the country. Its secretary general Tiago Oliveira called the reforms “among the biggest attacks on the world of work.” He told AFP the government action would “normalize job insecurity,” “deregulate working hours” and “make dismissals easier.”
Out of a working population of some five million people, around 1.3 million are already in insecure positions, Oliveira said.
- ‘Already a success’ -
Private sector unions are set to join the action.
The TAP Air Portugal national airline expects just a third of its 250 usual flights to get off the ground, while the national railway company has warned the disruption could spill over into Friday.
With Portugal set to elect a new president in early 2026, Oliveira said he considered the strike was “already a success” as it had drawn public attention to the government labor reforms.
“Without a doubt, we’ll have a great general strike,” the union leader added.
Public opinion is largely behind the action, with 61 percent of those polled in favor of the walk-out, according to a survey published in the Portuguese press.
On the eve of the strike, Montenegro said he hoped “that the country will function as normally as possible... because the rights of some must not infringe on the rights of others.”
Although his right-wing party lacks a majority in parliament, Montenegro’s government should be able to force the bill through with the support of the liberals — and the far right, which has become the second-largest political force in Portugal.
The left-wing opposition has accused Montenegro’s camp of not telling voters that workers’ rights roll-backs were on the cards while campaigning for the last parliamentary elections.
Although Portugal has recorded economic growth of around two percent and a historically low unemployment rate of some six percent, the prime minister has argued that the country should take advantage of the favorable climate to push through reforms.
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