Macron Meets Le Pen Amid Pressure to Appoint New Prime Minister French

President Emmanuel Macron met with far-right leader Marine Le Pen for discussions on Monday, amid increasing pressure on him to choose a new prime minister after the indecisive legislative elections held in July. After the meeting with Macron, Le Pen called for an extraordinary session of parliament so that MPs could dismiss any new government in a vote of confidence. She stated, “I don’t want the prime minister to have a month to implement harmful policy through decree, which could pose a risk to the French people.” The early elections called by Macron last month failed to pull France out of the parliamentary deadlock that has seen his camp running a minority government since 2022. Instead, the National Assembly is split among three blocs: the new Popular Front alliance gathering left-wing parties with over 190 seats, followed by the presidential camp with 160 seats, and the National Rally with 140 seats. Therefore, none of the blocs came close to the majority of 289 seats in the council consisting of 577 seats. Since the second round of elections on July 7, the left has been pressing Macron to appoint one of its members as prime minister, asserting that the position should be allotted to the left as it forms the largest force in parliament. The leftists have nominated Lucy Castets, a 37-year-old economic expert, as a potential candidate for prime minister. However, Macron has delayed appointing a new prime minister, leaving a caretaker government in place for an unprecedented period, while seeking to appoint a widely supported figure so as not to be immediately overthrown in a vote of confidence.