France Macron seeks prime minister in a rush after government fall
Following the fall of the French government, French President Emmanuel Macron is working flat out to find a new prime minister.
06.12.2024, 00:41
SDA
Macron wants to nominate a new head of government in the coming days. "We can afford neither division nor stagnation", he said in an address to the nation on Thursday evening.
Some reports speculate that Macron would like to have a new prime minister in place before the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame with numerous international heads of state on Saturday. The president has already held initial talks.
Macron also wants to take himself out of the line of fire with a swift appointment. After all, the fall of Prime Minister Michel Barnier's centre-right government following a vote of no confidence on Wednesday evening has noticeably increased the pressure on him. The left-wing party La France Insoumise demanded Macron's resignation. The head of state firmly rejected this. He would carry out his five-year mandate in full until its end, i.e. until 2027.
Stable government difficult due to political stalemate
In view of the looming economic problems, Macron called it a priority for the new government to quickly draw up a budget for the coming year. First, however, a special law is to be passed to bridge the gap until the budget is finalized at the beginning of the year. It is unclear how much leeway a new government will have for the necessary austerity measures, which ultimately caused Barnier's cabinet to fail.
What exactly a new government might look like is also uncertain. Since the early parliamentary elections last summer, the political balance of power in Paris has been complicated. Neither Macron's relegated centrist forces, nor the left-wing camp, nor the right-wing nationalists around Marine Le Pen and her allies have enough seats to govern alone.
Macron demands willingness to compromise
Coalitions were rather unusual in French politics, which is geared towards confrontation. However, Macron is now once again calling for a willingness to compromise. A new era must begin. The prime minister should form a "government of the general interest". The members of the National Assembly must work together.
Macron also expressed the hope that the next government could be more stable than Barnier's cabinet, which was forced out of office after less than three months. There are still 30 months until the end of his mandate. "Thirty months for the government to act."
