(Paris) Emmanuel Macron’s camp, which came in behind the left in the French legislative elections, has won the presidency of the National Assembly, a victory that is above all symbolic and does not necessarily foreshadow a future coalition government.
Yaël Braun-Pivet was re-elected Thursday as president of the lower house of parliament with only 13 votes ahead of the candidate of the New Popular Front (coalition bringing together socialists, environmentalists, communists and the radical left), the communist André Chassaigne. In unison with his camp, he cried out against the “theft” of the results of the legislative elections.
The French President congratulated the winner who, according to him, will ensure “the expression of the diversity of sensibilities”, while the Assembly is now divided into three blocs (left, centre and extreme right), none of which has an absolute majority or a strong relative majority.
“The gain is symbolic” for the presidential camp, according to constitutionalist Benjamin Morel, because the president of the Assembly “does not have as much power as is said.” Furthermore, Mr.me Braun-Pivet, who has held this position since 2022, is emerging “weakened”, with a “very volatile” majority and without an identified majority group leader on whom she could rely.
” Death certificate ”
The entourage of the head of state has recalled that they want to wait for the structuring of the new Assembly, which ends on Saturday with the distribution of the other key positions in the institution, but also the “substantive” work started by the parliamentary groups before considering forming a new government.
However, the alleged agreement between the presidential camp and the right-wing group led by Laurent Wauquiez, who withdrew his candidate in the second round in favor of Mr.me Braun-Pivet, means that the Macronists will have to give up other key positions in the Assembly to him. “We will have fewer things,” concedes a Macronist MP.
Even if the “Legislative Pact” proposed by Laurent Wauquier resulted in a government pact without participation, the latter would remain numerically far from the absolute majority (289 elected representatives). Even by adding the 21 deputies of the independent centrist group Liot. In addition, an alliance with the right “would betray the original project of overcoming” of Emmanuel Macron, believes the former minister Clément Beaune.
The election to the presidency of the Assembly actually aims to “certify the death certificate of the New Popular Front at Matignon”, analyses an advisor to the executive. “It was first necessary to show that the left had not won”, adds a heavyweight of the majority, otherwise Emmanuel Macron “would have been obliged to appoint an NFP” to the post of prime minister.
In the vote for the presidency of the Assembly, the Macronists, the right and Liot gathered “more votes” than the left, as former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne pointed out on RTL radio on Friday.
” Bad spirit ”
This election showed that “the benevolent abstention of the National Rally (extreme right) is never a given”, since Marine Le Pen’s party maintained its candidate, and that the left-wing alliance “held despite everything” or even “solidified in the opposition” after its failure, analyzes Benjamin Morel. “The prospect of a breakup of the NFP and a rapprochement” of the socialist party with the presidential camp to possibly govern together “did not make any progress” on Thursday.
The election of Mme Braun-Pivet also “buried the Republican front” aimed at preventing the extreme right from coming to power through withdrawals, which nevertheless allowed several Macronists to be elected deputies and could have been the basis of a government coalition, observes political scientist Vincent Martigny.
A close friend of Emmanuel Macron assures that “we have already spoken with the Republican right for the presidency of the Assembly and that we are open [à d’autres] among the Republican forces.” However, for Mr. Martigny, “it is the bad spirit of going beyond saying ‘let’s work with those who want to work with us’.”
The left, for its part, has shown itself to be “incapable of broadening its base” (André Chassaigne only won 7 votes between the first and third rounds of the election for the presidency of the Assembly) to possibly “form a partnership” with the left wing of Macron’s party, observes this professor of political science.
In the end, we will need “less political ministers”, adds a government source. Or even simple “personalities”.