French president rejects prime minister's resignation 'for now' following snap poll results

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – French President Emmanuel Macron asked Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Monday to continue working on his position "for now," as the second round of snap parliamentary elections results show that none of the three major alliances secured enough seats to form their own government, according to media reports.

Attal went to the Elysee Presidential Palace to meet with Macron to submit his resignation, but instead of accepting it, he was asked to stay as prime minister "for now" in order to "ensure stability in the country," sources in Elysee Palace told broadcaster BFMTV.

The president also thanked the premier for his work during the election campaign.

“Tonight, the political formation that I represent in this campaign has no majority, I will submit my resignation to the president tomorrow morning,” Attal said on Sunday evening after the first results were announced.

He hailed that "no extremes," referring to the far-right party National Rally (RN) and the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), won a significant number of seats in the lower house.

The New Popular Front could win over 180 seats in the National Assembly, according to the latest projections based on data from the Interior Ministry.

The centrist alliance, Together for the Republic, backed by Macron, finished second with over 160 seats, while Marine Le Pen's RN got over 140 seats.

The National Assembly has 577 seats, and none of the three primary alliances are expected to win an absolute majority of 289 lawmakers.

The first round was held on June 30, and 76 candidates were elected without a second round.

The RN received 29.26% of the vote alone (37 seats), a figure that rises to more than 33% when combined with its allies.

The NFP got 28.06% (32 seats), followed by the centrist Together with slightly over 20.04% (two seats).

Macron dissolved parliament and announced early elections after the RN won more than 31% of the vote in the European Parliament elections on June 9, defeating his centrist bloc.