France’s left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front (NPF), emerged as the largest party in the French elections but failed to secure a prime ministerial candidate (Photo: Reuters)
Nearly a week after the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NPF) emerged as the largest party in France’s parliamentary elections, the country continues to wait for a new prime minister amid ongoing infighting among left-wing parties.
The left-wing parties that make up the NPF have been unable to agree on a prime ministerial candidate for the coalition, with infighting mainly between the far-left French Indomitable (LFI) and the Socialist Party, which won the most seats with 78, while the Socialist Party came second with 65.
The LFI nominated Huguette Bello, a veteran politician from the French overseas territory of Réunion, as its candidate for prime minister, but the Socialist Party opposed this, instead recommending its leader, Olivier Faure.
According to Le Monde, Bello has the support of the LFI, as well as the NPF’s Communist and Green parties.
Far-left vs. Socialist Party leads France’s wait for new prime minister
Although the far-left LFI became the largest party in the French elections, its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is a controversial figure and disliked by many within the party and the coalition. Mélenchon was a possible candidate for prime minister, but strong opposition from within the party and the NPF led the party to propose the name Bélo.
Mr Mélenchon praised Mr Bello as a “solution” to France’s political deadlock and stressed that he would not shoulder his burdens.
Mélenchon, who has long been accused of being a radical anti-Semite and seen as soft on Russia, has described Bello as an “anti-racism feminist”, according to France 24.
The Socialist Party, meanwhile, is pushing for Faure’s name as leader, stressing that he is the only party leader in a coalition government that French President Emmanuel Macron cannot veto, according to Le Monde.
In France’s political system, the president appoints the prime minister, who is then approved by parliament. This means that the prime minister is chosen from the party or coalition that controls parliament, but the president can influence which party or coalition leader is ultimately appointed. Currently, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron’s centrist coalition is in power as caretaker prime minister.
Further complicating the election, the paper said, is that there is still a faction within LFI that is backing Mélenchon’s candidacy.
The list of prime ministers continues to grow
The list of potential prime ministers seems to be getting longer, not shorter.
By Thursday, the field seemed to have narrowed down to either Faure or Bélot, but that quickly changed, Le Monde reported.
The paper reported that Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel also recommended her name as a possible candidate for prime minister, and that the Greens and Communists, tired of bickering, had proposed two new candidates.
According to the paper, the Green Party has nominated former leader and former housing minister Cécile Duflot, while the Communist Party has nominated Christophe Robert, head of the charity Abbé Pierre Foundation.
The NPF said earlier this week that it would nominate its prime ministerial candidate this week, but so far there has been no consensus among the left, suggesting the window for a nomination may pass.
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