France has little tradition of coalition governments, which makes negotiations over the formation of a government complex.
The far right has been defeated in the second round of the elections and is positioning itself as the third force in the National Assembly. The National Regroupment of Martine Le Pen continues to scare the French who believe that this formation is not just a party, but rather a dangerous force that hides its real goals by existing racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and xenophobic whose takeover must be prevented.
The left-wing Popular Front, the leading force, won 181 seats. Ensemble, home to Macron’s centrist party, is the second force with 166. And in third place is the far-right National Regroupment with 143.
By winning the Popular Front without obtaining an absolute majority of 289 seats, this bloc must agree to form a new coalition government with Macron’s party. But France has little tradition of coalition governments, which makes negotiations on forming a government complex.
The situation is complicated if we consider that the Popular Front is made up of four forces: rebellious France, the first force of the Front in seats, the Socialist Party of former President Francois Hollande elected as deputy in second place, the Ecologists’ Party, the third force, and the Communist Party, the fourth force in seats of the Popular Front.
Since La Francia Insumisa is the first force of this left front, leader Melenchon has already claimed the portfolio of prime minister, something that will have to be negotiated with the rest of the forces. There is also the question of what program the new government, emerging from this very fragmented parliament, will follow.
President Macron will have to live with a government that emerges from this complex and unprecedented parliament in the Fifth Republic. Although France has experience of cohabiting governments between presidents of the Republic and prime ministers from different political forces, there is no tradition of coalition government that the new situation requires.
During the Fifth Republic, there have been three periods of coexistence: from 1986 to 1988 between the Socialist President François Mitterrand and the Gaullist Prime Minister Jacques Chirac; from 1993 to 1995 between Mitterrand and Prime Minister Edouard Balladourd; and from 1997 to 2002 between President Chirac and the Prime Minister, the Socialist Lionel Jospín. But this time the situation is much more complicated.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
