3 Jul. () –
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ruled out that electoral concessions to the left in the second round of parliamentary elections could open the door to a coalition government with members of La France Insoumise (LFI), the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
“There will be no coalition,” Macron said in a statement made at the Council of Ministers and echoed by numerous French media outlets, including ‘Le Figaro’, Franceinfo and BFM TV. “A withdrawal (of candidacies) does not imply a coalition,” he said.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also distanced himself from Mélenchon’s party in an interview on France Inter on Thursday: “Everything separates me from La France Insoumise.” “I would never sign an alliance with them,” he added, referring to a party that for many in the Macronist camp represents the extreme left, therefore comparable to the far right in terms of democratic risk.
In fact, although the official slogan of Macron’s list is to withdraw candidates in constituencies where it is necessary to support the left-wing New Popular Front to stop the National Rally, several candidates have declined to step aside, mainly citing LFI.
The far right remains the favourite for the second round, although polls do not guarantee it an absolute majority. It is in this scenario that a stage for negotiations would open up, although polls suggest that the New Popular Front may have more legislators than the ‘Macronism’ in the National Assembly.
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