France’s leftwing parties jostle to lead new government

France’s leftwing parties have begun jockeying to lead the country’s next government after their unexpected parliamentary election victory thwarted Marine Le Pen’s efforts to bring the far right to power.

Amid warnings from a former European Central Bank chief that their spending plans risked catastrophe, members of the hastily cobbled-together leftist Nouveau Front Populaire jousted with each other over who to back for prime minister.

The NFP won the most seats in the National Assembly after the second-round vote on Sunday, but is far short of a majority, although it ended ahead of both President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance and Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.

The results marked a success for centrist and leftist parties’ bid to form a common “front républicain” by pulling out of races to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote. It was also a stinging setback for Le Pen.

But the leftist bloc — which ranges from the centre-left Socialists to Greens, communists and the far-left La France Insoumise, its biggest constituent party — will struggle to form a government.

“Within the week, we need to be in a position to present a candidate for prime minister and force the president to take this situation into account,” said Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialists, who made gains on Sunday.

He also hit out at Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the LFI’s firebrand leftist leader, as “certainly the most divisive” figure within the NFP bloc and as lacking the consensus profile needed for the post of prime minister.

Mélenchon had vowed within hours of Sunday’s result to put in place the high-tax, high-spending NFP programme that has spooked investors.

On Monday former ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet described both the NFP and RN platforms as “not feasible at all”, telling Bloomberg TV: “It would be catastrophic for the country to embark on additional massive spending.”

Although Macron’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal tendered his resignation on Monday, the president refused, asking him to stay on for now. 

Macron’s allies warn talks to establish a new government could take weeks, with some holding out hope of a new constellation of forces that could exclude both the far right and the far left.

They have consistently ruled out forming a government with either Mélenchon’s LFI party or RN.

“I think it’s possible to get a higher score or number of seats than the left-wing bloc,” said Francois Bayrou, a centrist ally of the president. “I don’t think France is ungovernable, I think there are paths forward.”

However, S&P Global Ratings, the ratings agency, warned that since no party came close to an outright majority in the 577-seat National Assembly, even if a deal is eventually struck, “the resulting government will struggle to implement meaningful policy measures and will face a persistent risk of a vote of no confidence”. 

After oscillating between losses and gains earlier on Monday, the euro and French stocks both edged down on the day, as investors digested the news.

The NFP secured 180 seats, followed by Macron’s alliance on 159, according to the Financial Times’ parliamentary election tracker.

Le Pen’s RN, which had hoped for a parliamentary majority after winning the first round, trailed with 143.

While the RN won the biggest haul of seats in its history, it had been expected to come within touching distance of a majority.

Outside France, some European leaders feared the divided government could complicate EU decision-making.

Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor, welcomed the left’s victory against the RN but warned there were challenges ahead for France, Europe and the Franco-German relationship.

“We cannot say this went well and tick the check box yet,” he said in Stuttgart. “We still need to pay close attention to what happens next in France.”

Some governments fear EU support for Ukraine could suffer after Macron’s authority was diminished by the election result. He had offered to send French soldiers to train Ukrainian troops inside the country.

“Will it happen without French leadership? I don’t know,” said one EU diplomat. “Macron has been very strong on Ukraine.”

Additional reporting by Domitille Alain in Paris, Guy Chazan in Berlin, Andrew Bounds in Brussels and Martin Arnold in Frankfurt