Sergey Stankevich
French President Emmanuel Macron continues to spin.
Macron’s gamble with calling early parliamentary elections in June ended in failure: his centrist coalition lost dozens of seats in parliament, and no party received an absolute majority. The New Popular Front alliance of the left came in first place, but Macron denies the winners the right to form a government.
Instead, he is frantically trying to find a “close” candidate for prime minister who could gain support in parliament. Macron met with former presidents — Socialist Francois Hollande and right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy. And it seems he is betting on Bernard Cazeneuve, a former member of the Socialist Party and an experienced politician.
Even if the political paralysis continues after all the manipulations fail, Macron will not be able to call new early elections until July next year in accordance with the French constitution.
Lucy Dickerson
