French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that he would not appoint a prime minister from the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) list, which emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly following last month's snap elections.
Despite the NFP, which includes numerous far-left figures, securing the most seats in the lower house of parliament, Macron refused to concede to their leadership. Macron's centrist alliance, which placed second in the June elections, remains without a clear path to forming a government.
On Monday, Macron met with representatives of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party, who stated unequivocally that they would initiate a vote of no confidence against any prime minister appointed from the NFP list. This stance adds further complexity to Macron's efforts to establish a functioning government.
Since the July elections, Macron has been engaged in intense negotiations to determine the future government’s composition. In a surprising turn, the united leftist NFP list, which includes the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, defied polls by winning 190 seats.
Macron’s centrist alliance trailed with 160 seats, while Le Pen's National Rally, despite achieving its best-ever result, finished third with 140 seats—significantly fewer than the polls had forecast.
* Ynet contributed to this article.
