France: PM Attal Resigns But Will Stay On Amid Deadlock

Facts

• French Pres. Emmanuel Macron accepted on Tuesday the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who will continue in a caretaker role with restricted powers until a new cabinet is appointed.¹
• This decision, which comes more than a week after Attal offered his resignation, allows cabinet members that won seats to assume their roles in the National Assembly and vote on its next speaker.²
• Macron and Attal's centrist Ensemble (Together) coalition won second in the snap parliamentary election held earlier this month, with 14 seats fewer than the largest — but not majority — left-wing New Popular Front (NFP).³
• The election for the fourth-highest position in the Fifth Republic on Thursday could either break the leftist alliance or boost their claim on the prime ministerial role and his government.⁴
• Under Article 8 of the French Constitution, the power to appoint a prime minister rests solely on the president, and there's no legal obligation for him to choose a candidate from the largest group in the National Assembly.⁵
• On Wednesday, right-wing leader Marine Le Pen blamed Macron and the left for what she described as a post-election 'quagmire' and accused them of anti-democratic behavior against her National Rally party.⁶

Sources: ¹France 24, ²Wall Street Journal, ³BBC News, ⁴Spectator (UK), ⁵Le Monde.fr and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by POLITICO. The victory of the leaderless leftist alliance in the snap parliamentary election has surprised even its four founding parties, and now their coalition is on the brink of falling apart because its members cannot agree on a prime ministerial candidate. It's likely that the Socialist Party would soon breakaway from its radical allies and join a mainstream coalition.
• Left narrative, as provided by Jacobin. That Macron and his centrist allies are still in denial doesn't affect the fact that the French people have given a clear mandate to the leftist NFP. Therefore, his moves to deny the largest alliance its chance to form a new government and grab power through covert plots indicates his undemocratic disregard for the popular vote.
• Right narrative, as provided by Europeanconservative. Though the left has secured most seats in the National Assembly and Macron remains in power, France is on the right — as proven by the number of votes. If history can teach us anything, all this political chaos the country is experiencing right now indicates that a new dawn is coming — one in which the right will be the only possible opposition.

Predictions