French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal has announced his intention to offer his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron following a significant setback in the recent parliamentary elections where his party failed to secure a majority.
This political development comes at a critical time for France, with the Paris Olympics just three weeks away and a major NATO summit scheduled in two days.
In the elections, no party gained an absolute majority, causing a state of political uncertainty in France. This has complicated the landscape as the country prepares for major international events and attempts to navigate its domestic and foreign policy agendas.
The surprising projected results indicated that an alliance of left-wing parties might emerge as the largest bloc in parliament, surpassing both the far-right and President Macron’s coalition.
The New Popular Front (NFP), a coalition formed last month, which includes Socialists, Greens, Communists, and the hard-left France Unbowed, has shown a significant consolidation of the left-wing vote.
This new alliance was in response to Macron’s call for snap elections and has evidently reshaped the French political scene.
Despite leading in the first round of voting on June 30, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) did not perform as expected in the final stages.
Projections based on vote samples indicated that no group would achieve an absolute majority, with the left-wing NFP unexpectedly pulling ahead of both Macron’s centrist Ensemble and Le Pen’s eurosceptic, anti-immigration RN.
While Prime Minister Attal expressed his readiness to continue serving “as long as duty demands,” particularly with the upcoming Paris Olympics, the political landscape remains uncertain.
Macron has called for caution and a thorough analysis of the results, reflecting the complexity of the situation.
Marine Le Pen commented on the outcome, suggesting that although her party did not achieve a decisive victory this time, the momentum was still building for the far-right, hinting at future political successes.
