France's left-wing coalition to name PM candidate this week

The French left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front (NPF), has said that it will name its prime ministerial candidate this week.

In a stunning break from expectations, the NPF emerged as the single-largest bloc in the French parliamentary elections. The tactical voting arrangement between the NPF and the centrist bloc of President Emmanuel Macron relegated the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen, which was widely expected to storm to the first position with overwhelming majority, to the third position.

Olivier Faure, the leader of the NPF-constituent Socialist Party, said that the coalition will name the prime ministerial candidate this week, according to AFP.

In the French elections, the NPF won the most 181 of 577 seats, followed by Macron’s centrist bloc that won 160 seats, and the RN coming third with 143 seats, according to the Associated Press.

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As the elections have thrown a hung parliament, France is now under a political deadlock that may take weeks or months to be resolved. Either the different parties will strike a deal to run a coalition government or there may be a minority government as no single party of bloc has reached the majority-mark of 289.

Following the European Parliamentary elections last month in which the far-right RN made impressive gains, Macron dissolved the parliament and called snap elections . In the polls, the RN was expected to comfortably won the elections and drive Macron’s centric bloc to a distant third. The same was reflected in the first round of French election results on June 30.

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Then, after the first round of French elections, as it became clear that the RN would win, the centrists and leftists struck an ad-hoc alliance of sorts where more than 200 candidates withdrew with the idea of consolidating all non-right voters behind a single candidate. The bet appears to have worked as the NPF came first, the centrist bloc second, and the RN third.

PM Gabriel Attal from the outgoing government of Macron’s centrist bloc has resigned and will continue as the caretaker prime minister until the new government takes over.