‘Nobody won’ : Macron calls for ‘plural majority’ after snap elections

4 months ago 20

No one has come out on top in France’s recent snap parliamentary elections, French President Emmanuel Macron said in his first reaction to the election results in a letter to the French published in the regional daily press on Wednesday (10 July).

To everyone’s surprise, the left-wing alliance dubbed Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) came out on top in the final round of the French legislative elections on Sunday (7 July), followed by Macron’s Ensemble coalition and Jordan Bardella’s Rassemblement National (RN).

“Although the far right came out on top in the first round of voting with almost 11 million votes, you clearly refused to allow it to enter government”, Macron wrote in a letter addressed to French voters.

Macron, who is under pressure to name a new prime minister, was expected to make a statement after the election results were announced, as the legitimacy of his government is now being called into question.

“No one has won,” Macron writes in his letter to the French, adding that “no single political force has obtained a sufficient majority, and the blocs or coalitions that have emerged from these elections are all in the minority.”

Meanwhile, the leaders of the various political groups are holding meetings and discussions in an attempt to forge alliances with a view to forming a majority in the National Assembly.

“I call on all political forces that recognise themselves in republican institutions, the rule of law, parliamentarianism, a European orientation and the defence of French independence, to engage in sincere and loyal dialogue to build a solid, necessarily plural, majority for the country”, the letter adds.

Macron also indicated that he would “give the political groups a little time” to come together, adding that he would appoint France’s future prime minister “in the light of these principles” – meaning that until then, the current government will continue to exercise its responsibilities and manage current affairs.

“Our country must be able to bring to life, as so many of our European neighbours do, the spirit of overcoming that I have always called for”, Macron concluded.

Macron decided to dissolve the National Assembly and call snap elections following the results of the European elections on 9 June, in which the Rassemblement National came out on top.