President Emmanuel Macron has called for a comprehensive “governing treaty” that would exclude the far-right moral and far-right Los Angeles France Insoumise (LFI).
The nouveau front populaire (NFP) bloc, which includes the LFI, has so far resisted efforts by Macron’s centrists to remove its excess liberal members. The NFP is claiming that it has the right to come first in the voting held on Sunday with 180 seats in the 577-seat assembly. As of Thursday, NFP parties were still tussling over their PM candidate.
Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition is likely to be divided over what method to pursue, with some conservative politicians pushing for the proposal.
The French President nominates the Prime Minister, although the Charter no longer states how, nor has any timetable been drawn up.
Here are listed some of the contenders for the post of Prime Minister:
OLIVIER FAURE, NFP
Calm and calculating, it is easy to underestimate Olivier Faure, leader of the centre-left Socialist Party. However, the 55-year-old has proven to be a brilliant tactician who managed to bring her moribund party back to slim fitness – and triple the number of its MPs compared to the 2022 election.
Faure helped form the NFP coalition just before the midterm elections, which Macron called the closing generation. He was also the co-architect of the NUPS coalition with the LFI and Alternative Left parties in the previous assembly.
Faure can be an obstructive pair of hands, given his decades of experience in local and national politics, and is more moderate than others in the NFP. The leftist coalition has insisted it will stick to its key tax-and-spend program and cancel Macron’s major pension reform, although Faure could potentially be flexible as prime minister.
“I’m ready to take on this role,” Faure said Tuesday.
Marine Tondelier, NFP
The head of vegetables, Marine Tondelier, is known for constantly wearing her festively colored jacket. She has emerged as a key partner in the NFP, appearing as a bridge between Faure and far-left politicians.
The 37-year-old, who made her political debut in the northern city of Henin-Beaumont, has emerged as a visionary with powerful TV appearances and fiery speeches.
However, he has little experience in national government and is not considered unqualified for the process. Playing in her favor may be the fact that she no longer hails from the NFP’s two big events – LFI and PS – which constantly feud and compete.
Tondelaier noted that there are a number of families within the NFP who have the “experience and skills” for this process. “There are women who meet these criteria,” he said, indicating his openness to the ceremony.
Gerald Darmanin, ensemble
A minister since the start of Macron’s first term in 2017, and responsible for the tough interior portfolio, which has included policing for a lifetime, Gérald Darmanin, 41, has long sought the PM post.
Born to working-class parents of Algerian and Maltese origin, Darmanin started out with the conservative Les Republicains (LR) and is one of the leading right-wing figures in Macron’s camp. Re-elected as MP from Northern District, he is recognized for his law and order stance. They have faced serious crises, including riots caused by the police shooting of a 17-year-old teenager of North African descent last summer.
Darmanin has openly advocated combining Macron’s centrist coalition with LR, and has reacted sharply to the concept of a leftist NFP government. He recently mentioned that he would be the “first person to sign” a no-confidence motion in a central authority involving LFI or Vegetables.
François Bayru, fashion
François Bayrou, one of Macron’s early allies, has supported liberal centrism throughout his decades-long political career. The 73-year-old, now mayor of his home region of Pau in south-west France, leads the Modem festival which is part of the Presidential Ensemble coalition.
A longtime social democrat, Bayeru has advocated such policies within the “left wing” of Macron’s camp, and wishes to counter the president’s slow shift to the right on issues such as security and tradition.
Bayru’s modem has reduced from 48 parliamentary seats to 33 parliamentary seats in 2022. However, in recent days he has joined the race to counter those on the “right” of Macron’s camp, who, on par with Darminin, suggest turning to LR to look for allies.
Given the ambiguous election result, Bayeru recently argued that it could be a serious mistake to assemble a central authority that “serves only one half of the country against the other”.
Xavier Bertrand, Les Republicains
Xavier Bertrand, 59, runs the northern Hauts-de-France region and is a former fitness and labor minister under Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. He is proud of LR for advocating greater focus on the operating category with higher national products and services and social expenditure.
Bertrand briefly left LR in 2017 when a more conservative rival, Laurent Vauquiz, presided over the party, and returned to the fold in 2022 when he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency.
Bertrand has tempered his strong regionalist inclinations to criticize Macron – resigning in the past to protest his unpopular rise to power – and has been a fierce opponent of the far-right RN, which is powerful in its branch.
However Bertrand has said that Macron chose him for the top post in the federal government in 2017.
Together with the alternative LR leaders, Bertrand has made a clear claim for anyone from his party to run the federal government. “It should be led by someone from LR so that there can be change in this country,” he said on Tuesday.
a thriller technocrat
Macron has leveled the playing field for this generation by preserving Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s tidal government because negotiations are out of the game.
If the government can refuse, Atal can remain as caretaker for one year until new snap elections are required. But Atal has signaled that he wants to leave the then generation as soon as possible to take up his seat as an MP and take up Macron’s renaissance at the helm of the parliamentary staff.
If Macron is deadlocked, he will likely choose a technocratic government, as long as he lives to tell the tale of the no-confidence vote. This would be seminal for contemporary France.
A technocratic government would have a more limited ability to function, so few fundamental reforms should be expected.
