• Tuesday, 24 December 2024

Macron backs French PM to form government despite loss of majority

Macron backs French PM to form government despite loss of majority
French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed his confidence in Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne despite his party's loss of its absolute majority in parliamentary elections held earlier this month. Macron instructed Borne to explore potential cooperation with various other parliamentary groups in order to form a working majority in France's National Assembly prepared to back her premiership and pass a draft budget, broadcaster France Info reported on Saturday evening. Borne confirmed on Twitter that she would be consulting with other parliamentary groups at Macron's request in an attempt to find out what degree of support they were prepared to offer, adding that she would present the president with "a roadmap and a government ready to act" by the end of next week. Since Macron's party failed to retain its absolute majority in the National Assembly in legislative elections earlier this month, the support of other parliamentary groupings has become necessary to form a government. The two largest opposition factions - Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and Jean-Luc Mélenchon's leftist party - have so far signalled no willingness to support Macron's legislative agenda. However, an agreement with the centre-right Republicans could still be on the cards.