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Macron Likely to Resign If New Coalition Government Fails - EU Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - French President Emmanuel Macron will likely resign if he hand-picks a left-wing prime minister to lead a new coalition government and then it ends up failing, Gilles Lebreton, a member of the European Parliament from the right-wing National Rally party, told Sputnik.
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"President Macron is likely to appoint a left-wing Prime Minister, who will head a coalition government made up of the NFP (excluding the La France Insoumise party), the center parties, and the right-wing LR [The Republicans] party. If he does not succeed, or if this coalition fails to work properly, he will have no option but to resign," Lebreton said.
Earlier in the day, however, BFM TV reported that Emmanuel Macron asked French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to remain in office after elections. Macron made this proposal to Attal in order to maintain the stability in the country, the broadcaster reported.
Lebreton further elaborated that another option could be dissolving the National Assembly again, but the French constitution forbids Macron to do so less than a year after the previous dissolution.
Analysis
New French Governing Coalition Will Likely Be ‘Fragile’
Despite the victory of the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) coalition in the French parliamentary elections, there will be almost no changes in France's foreign policy, Lebreton said.
"Externally, the NFP will continue its current policy, except on the Israel question, as it is much more favorable to Hamas than the former presidential majority. Domestically, the NFP will try to repeal the recent pension reform and increase low wages, which will worsen the financial situation of France and its SMEs [small- and medium-sized enterprises]," Lebreton said.
The politician explained that the coalition of left-wing parties prevailed "because of the formation of the 'Republican Front,' which brought together all the parties on the left, center and right against the RN," while "the French media and various influencers also managed to scare off many voters by demonizing the RN."
"That said, the NFP's victory is only relative, as having failed to win an absolute majority, it will only be able to govern by forging an alliance with the center parties," Lebreton opined.
Analysis
French People on Both Sides of Political Spectrum 'Deeply Dissatisfied With Macron's Presidency'
The New Popular Front coalition won the parliamentary elections, receiving 182 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, followed by Macron's centrist coalition with 168 seats and the National Rally with 143 seats.
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