French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to join forces with the Socialist Party, a strategy that would split a large left-wing coalition in the National Assembly and It would potentially return enough power to the centrists to break the country’s political deadlock.
Outgoing Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, a close ally of the president, called on Thursday for an alliance with the Socialist Party. At the moment, the socialists are part of a large left-wing group that also includes the far-left radical France Unbowed, who fiercely opposes any cooperation with Macron’s centrist party.
“We have to do everything possible to separate the socialists from Unbreakable France”Lecornu said in an interview with RTL radio. “It is an urgent matter.”
The French president is scheduled to make a statement on Thursday at 8:00 p.m.. Macron had already promoted the idea of an alliance with the leftist group, without success, but the idea is gaining momentum again since the French government collapsed on Wednesday.
The problem is that the Socialists have little incentive to help an unpopular president: France is likely headed for another parliamentary election next summer. and Socialist officials fear voters would punish them if they allied themselves with Macron.
France has been in political limbo since Macron called early national elections in June after suffering a crushing defeat in the European elections.. That left the lower house divided into three fiercely opposed blocs: a weakened center supporting the president, a left-wing alliance and a strengthened National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, which is now the largest party in parliament.
Its deputies, along with the leftist New Popular Front coalition, have enough seats to overthrow the government, as they did on Wednesday with the administration of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. As long as the NPF remains united and commits to blocking Macron’s policies, Le Pen and her deputies will have the ability to overthrow the government.
In theory, Macron’s centrist alliance could govern with the support of the Socialists and Greens without needing additional support from the center-right, but so far he has not managed to drive a wedge between the socialists and their more radical partners, despite their constant disputes.
Barnier’s dismissal had already been priced in, so French bonds and the euro were unaffected by the vote, as the 10-year yield fell slightly and the common currency was trading little changed. The extra yield investors demand to hold French debt rather than safer German bonds has been cut to 81 basis points.
An interim government may pass a special fiscal continuity law that would allow the state to collect taxes and pay salaries. That would effectively cap spending at 2024 levels, offering some short-term support to public finances.
On Thursday, the French debt office sold 4.6 billion euros ($4.847 billion) in 15- and 50-year bonds, slightly below the $5.269 billion upper limit of its target.. But the auction received solid demand, another sign that recent political unrest has not deterred investors.
Macron is in the process of finding a new prime minister who can pass a 2025 budget in a deeply divided parliament, But any new leader will face the same financial squeeze that brought down Barnier’s government.
Lecornu, who has been cited as a potential prime minister, said the decision to partner with the Socialists is up to Macron and He stressed that the issue had not been discussed while the two visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
