Zürcher Nachrichten - France's Macron to convene party leaders to break deadlock

Weeks after legislative elections which produced a lower-house National Assembly with no clear majority, France still does not have a new prime minister.

Macron said in July he would seek to name a new prime minister after the Paris Olympics, which ended on August 11, stressing that parties in a fractured parliament must come together to build a broad coalition first.

While the successful Olympic Games have lifted what was a morose mood in France, analysts say that it is far from certain this could boost Macron's embattled fortunes.

On Friday, the Elysee presidential palace said Macron invited party leaders to take part in "a series of discussions" on August 23, with a view to attempting to form a government.

"The appointment of a prime minister will follow on from these consultations and their conclusions," the presidency said in a statement.

The French people had expressed "a desire for change and broad unity," the statement said.

"In a spirit of responsibility, all political leaders must work to implement this desire," said the Elysee, expressing hope the consultations will help move towards "the broadest and most stable majority possible."

The left-wing New Popular Front, which emerged as the largest faction post-election, has said it wants the economist Lucie Castets, 37, to be the new premier.

Macron had in late July already dismissed the left-wing alliance's push to name a new prime minister.

But the left-wing bloc will keep pushing at the meeting next week for Castets to be appointed prime minister, Manuel Bompard, coordinator for the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), the largest player in the left-wing alliance, said on X on Friday.

- Olympics after-glow -

Macron is prepared to receive Castets, a little-known senior civil servant, during the discussions next week, a member of the president's team told AFP.

"The president is obviously not opposed to this if it is a collective request," said the source.

Macron's forces would prefer an alliance with the traditional right and part of the centre-left, with the name of former minister and current head of the northern Hauts de France region, Xavier Bertrand, frequently cited as a candidate to lead a centre-focused coalition.

Macron has ruled out a government role for either hard-left France Unbowed or Marine Le Pen's far-right in any new coalition.

The government of his allies, under Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, has carried on in a caretaker capacity.

In June, Macron shocked the nation by dissolving parliament and calling snap elections. Seats in the 577-strong assembly are now divided between three similarly-sized blocs.

Any French government needs to be able to survive a confidence vote in the chamber or risk immediate ejection.

Caretaker Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said the political uncertainty has been hurting the economy, and observers expect the adoption of the 2025 budget to be a challenge this autumn.

"Macron is counting on the after-glow of a triumphant Paris Olympics to help him," said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group.

"The key will be to convince some on the centre left and centre right that the new prime minister is there to save France, not to save Macron."

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Ch.Siegenthaler--NZN