France’s left-wing parties engaged in a bitter struggle on Tuesday over selecting a prime minister, leading Communist party leader Fabien Roussel to warn of a potential “shipwreck” despite their recent election success.

Government Resignation and New Popular Front Success
President Emmanuel Macron is likely to accept the resignation of his current government, led by centrist Gabriel Attal, to allow ministers elected as lawmakers to sit in parliament when it convenes on Thursday. The New Popular Front (NFP), an alliance that includes socialists, Greens, the communist party, and the hard-left France Unbowed, was hastily formed before the June 30 and July 7 snap election and unexpectedly topped the vote. However, the NFP did not secure an absolute majority, and internal tensions have resurfaced over who should lead a potential left-wing government.

Macron’s Call for Mainstream Alliance

President Macron has called on mainstream parties to form an alliance to establish a government, an option that would include some NFP members but exclude France Unbowed. Roussel expressed his concerns to BFM TV, saying, “If we don’t manage to find a solution in the hours, the days, to come, it would be a shipwreck,” describing the state of talks as “deplorable.”

Internal Disputes Within NFP

The NFP parties, which outperformed Macron’s centrists and Marine Le Pen’s far-right in the snap election, have each proposed several candidates to run the government. However, each candidate has been rejected by at least one other member of the alliance.

Government Resignation and Caretaker Role

Gabriel Attal submitted his resignation to President Macron after losing the election. While Macron initially rejected the resignation, he will chair a cabinet meeting at 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT), where he could accept it. This would enable Attal and other government members, including Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, to sit in parliament and participate in the election of the parliament’s president on Thursday.

The government will remain in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is appointed. It can manage current affairs and emergency situations but cannot submit new laws to parliament, including the annual budget, or make significant changes. Running current affairs includes ensuring the smooth execution of the Olympics, which start on July 26.

Caretaker governments have existed in France before, but none have stayed longer than a few days.

With inputs from Reuters