French president once again seeks new premier after collapse of 3-month Barnier government

By Nur Asena Erturk

The French president has started discussions with political parties as he is looking to appoint a new prime minister.

Emmanuel Macron had said on Thursday that he would appoint a new premier "in the coming days" after parliament voted to oust Michel Barnier and his government through a no-confidence vote on Wednesday.

The Ecologists party met on Monday with Macron at the Elysee presidential palace, according to the broadcaster BFMTV.

Ecologists’ national secretary, Marine Tondelier, told media outlets following the meeting that Macron “understood” that he must stop acting at his discretion, “and rushing into nominations that would lead to” no-confidence motions.

Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel, who also met with Macron at the Elysee, told BFMTV that they “did not discuss a name, but content.”

Roussel added that he expressed his party’s wish to see a prime minister rather from the left or with left-sensitivities, who would deal with economic issues, including purchasing power.

The now-outgoing prime minister lost the trust of the National Assembly, or lower chamber of the French parliament, when the majority of lawmakers voted in favor of a no-confidence motion. It came two days after he used his discretionary powers to pass the much-debated social security budget bill without voting in parliament.

Amid rumors that he wants to name a new prime minister quickly, Macron made a live address to the nation on Thursday evening, saying he would "name a new prime minister in the coming days," who will be tasked to form a government of "general interest.”

Francois Bayrou, the mayor of the southwestern town of Pau and former presidential candidate, also a centrist and a close ally of Macron, was one of the rumored candidates.

Left-wing parties, however, oppose Bayrou’s possible nomination and insist on having a prime minister from the left.

Macron did not invite the far-right party National Rally (RN) for a discussion at the Elysee, while the far-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed or LFI) on Friday declined the president’s invitation.

- Political instability haunts since June

The country has been in political upheaval since June when Macron's centrist bloc failed and the far-right RN won the European Parliament elections.

In response, Macron called for two rounds of snap parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7, but no party won 289 seats, a threshold to achieve an absolute majority in the National Assembly.

The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) won the most votes and seats in parliament in the second round and later insisted that the prime minister must be from the alliance, but failed to nominate a consensus candidate for the position immediately.

After weeks of internal divisions, the NFP nominated Lucie Castets for prime minister on July 23.

However, President Macron rejected a left-wing candidate and said he would not appoint a premier until mid-August after the Paris Olympics.

He faced criticism for delaying the process, fueling further instability after he accepted then-Premier Gabriel Attal's resignation on July 16 after initially rejecting it on July 8.

On Sept. 5, Macron finally appointed Barnier, a center-right politician, former European commissioner, and former foreign minister, as the prime minister.

Barnier's government has become the first one to collapse with a no-confidence vote since 1962.