Macron rejects PM's resignation despite losing the elections
France's President Emmanuel Macron kept Gabriel Attal in the position of head of the government, asking him to "for a certain period of time" act as the Prime Minister to "ensure the country's stability," the Élysée Palace reported on Monday.
Earlier, it was reported that by procedure, Attal arrived at the Élysée Palace to tender his resignation to the president after Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The right to appoint the Prime Minister in France belongs to the head of state, who cannot disregard the composition of the new parliament. The left-wing New People's Front won Sunday's elections but has not yet presented a candidate for Prime Minister. It also lacks an absolute majority, preventing it from governing independently.
After elections, the head of government traditionally resigns the president, even if their political group wins. It is up to the head of state to decide whether to accept it.
The Élysée Palace stated in a Sunday release that President Emmanuel Macron, as the guarantor of the institutions, will respect French society's choice in the parliamentary elections. At the same time, he will make decisions when the full picture of the future parliament is known.
France has decided. The results of the second round of elections are in
France's Ministry of the Interior reported on Monday that in the second round of parliamentary elections, the left-wing New People's Front (NFP) secured 182 seats, the centrist camp of President Emmanuel Macron – 168, and the far-right National Rally (RN) – 143.
The turnout in the second round of elections was 66.63%, slightly lower than that of the first round on June 30, when it was 66.71%.
