Macron accepts Attal’s resignation but asks him to lead caretaker govt, oversee Paris Games
Despite his resignation, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is still leading his caretaker government to ensure the smooth operation of the Paris Olympic Games that start on July 26.
French President Emmanuel Macron officially accepted the resignation of Attal late July 16 but the latter will stay on in a caretaking capacity until a new cabinet is formed following an inconclusive snap election earlier this month.
A caretaker government is not expected to make major political decisions or submit new laws to parliament.
Attal, who only assumed office on Jan 9, first tendered his resignation the day after Macron’s centrist alliance lost majority in the July 7 election.
On July 13, he was elected as leader of Macron’s Renaissance Party in France’s lower chamber, the National Assembly.
The New Popular Front, a left-wing alliance that won most seats in the parliamentary election, is still unable to agree on a candidate to replace Attal.
France Unbowed, a major party within the New Popular Front, on July 15 rejected the candidacy of Laurence Tubiana, a 73-year-old economist and former French climate envoy, for the position of prime minister. Tubiana had the backing of Socialists, Communists, and the Greens.
France Unbowed coordinator Manuel Bompard described her candidacy as “not serious”.
Just days before that, the Socialists had rejected Huguette Bello, 73, a former communist lawmaker who was supported by other parties in the alliance.
In the parliamentary election, the New Popular Front won 193 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. Macron’s alliance came second with 164 seats and the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen won 143 seats.
The parliament, which reconvened on July 18, will fill the National Assembly speaker job and other key posts.
It is believed that Macron and Attal are still trying to find a right-of-center majority in the parliament that would exclude both the left and far right from the new coalition.
Macron will stay as president until his term ends in May 2027, when Le Pen is expected to again be a major rival.
The President’s Office said in a statement that Macron had called on “Republican forces to work together” to form a new government.
There is no firm timeline for when Macron must name a new prime minister following parliamentary elections this month, which left the National Assembly with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France’s modern republic.
Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, expressed optimism over Macron assembling a majority in the parliament by reaching out to the left Socialist Party and traditional right Republican Party.
“On possible candidates for the next prime minister, Macron still has many choices, such as former prime minister Edouard Philippe, who has been a staunch supporter for Macron,” Ding said.
Ding said he believes Tubiana and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also stand a chance to lead a new government.
Gesine Weber, a research fellow at the German Marshall Fund, said on X on July 16, “The Summer Olympics in Paris start in 10 days, and I do not see a way that France could have a government by then … unless there are some surprises coming.”
