New Prime Minister: Emmanuel Macron at the time of choices, what scenario for the start of the school year ?

The succession of Gabriel Attal is a headache for the head of state. MAXPPP – ALAIN JOCARD/POOL

Emmanuel Macron will receive representatives of the different political parties at the Élysée on Friday in order to appoint a Prime Minister who can bring together a stable majority around him. The discussions promise to be complicated.

But what else will they be able to say to each other except "no, goodbye and thank you" ? While Emmanuel Macron will receive the leaders of the New Popular Front on Friday, an agreement seems more improbable than ever between the left and the President. PS, EELV, PC and LFI indeed make the appointment of Lucie Castets a non-negotiable imperative. But the head of state refuses to do so. Suffice to say that the discussions which begin this Friday risk being cut short.

A major step

Yet everyone is preparing for it as if it were a major step, as if this series of interviews would be able to change the course of the ;rsquo;story. Emmanuel Macron first, because he has every interest in showing that he remained open to discussion until the end, and that the intransigence of the New Popular Front is solely responsible for the failure . “He is the guarantor of the continuity of the State and, in accordance with Article 8 of the Constitution, he is the only person authorized to appoint a Prime Minister. But he must be certain that it will not fall at the first motion of censure", the Élysée reminded us on Wednesday.

However, the President of the Republic has heard the leaders of the right and the far right, notably Laurent Wauquiez and Marine Le Pen, say that they would censure any government that included members of LFI in its ranks. "Lucie Castets is therefore unable to govern", the Château concludes. And the entourage of the head of state becomes irritated when reading articles that suspect Emmanuel Macron of wanting to impose his timing or of procrastinating.“The instructions for use were explained in the letter to the French published in your columns on July 10th”, one of his advisors explains to us, adding: “He expects the political forces to note that there is no majority and that the particular circumstances of the election (allusion to the many deputies elected thanks to the withdrawals in their favor, Editor's note) require them to be responsible.” This is essentially what the President intends to remind the representatives of the New Popular Front on Friday in order to ensure that the political forces can “to walk”, because “there is a budget to vote”, reminds the Château.

Display issues

But on the other side, the NFP representatives have other objectives, including successfully imposing the name of Lucie Castets as Prime Minister. “If the President appoints someone else, we will file a motion of censure”, Mathilde Panot warned on Wednesday. “The NFP will go together to request her appointment”, added the national coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard, in a message published on the social network X. So much for the facade. Because no one has many illusions anymore, especially since the publication of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's column this weekend calling for the dismissal of the head of state, a column that has deeply divided the NFP.

The stakes for the left will therefore be mainly one of display. It will be a question of showing, despite the tensions of the last few days, a united front, and above all of succeeding in rejecting the responsibility for the blockage on Emmanuel Macron. When contacted, PS and LFI did not wish to answer our questions. Discussions will continue in the afternoon with Laurent Wauquiez who will arrive, for his part, with a government pact. But the alliance between Macronists and LR would not be enough to form a majority either.

Not before September 8

The leaders of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, then their right-wing ally Éric Ciotti, will be received on Monday, even if it is excluded that they participate in a coalition.

Emmanuel Macron had initially promised to appoint a Prime Minister on Monday, August 26, at the end of negotiations with the party leaders. He is now talking about September 8. Finding a majority may well take even longer…

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