French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal officially resigns from role following legislative elections
Emmanuel Macron has officially accepted the resignation of his Prime minister Gabriel Attal on Tuesday evening.
The 35-year-old, who has only been in the position since the start of the year, and his cabinet will remain in place during the upcoming Paris Olympics while a new head of government is nominated.
The former prime minister and his cabinet will only be responsible as a caretaker government for ensuring the continuity of the state.
In principle, no political measures can be taken during this interim period by the temporary government.
Although this situation may work during the transition phase, it will clearly pose a democratic problem if it lasts for a long time especially considering that negotiations for a replacement prime minister have been fraught with complications following France’s legislative elections.
The left-wing alliance struggles to decide
The left-wing alliance, New Popular Front (NFP) which won the most seats in the legislative elections is clearly showing its divisions and inability to reach any form of compromise.
On Monday evening, the Socialists, Communists and the Greens agreed on “a common candidate coming from the civil society called Laurence Tubiana.
Ms Tubiana is a diplomat and economist, one of the key players in the drafting of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
But her candidacy was rejected by the main party within the left alliance, the France Unbowed (LFI).
On Tuesday morning, Manuel Bompard, the coordinator of the France Unbowed considered her candidacy as “not serious”.
Some of the party’s MPs believe she’s too close to Emmanuel Macron after Mrs Tubiana signed an opinion column calling for a coalition with Macron’s party.
Her candidacy would be an “abandonment of the programme” presented by the New Popular Front in the eyes of the France Unbowed Party.
