Hundreds gather in Paris to urge president to nominate left-wing prime minister

By Nur Asena Erturk

Hundreds took to the streets on Thursday in Paris to urge President Emmanuel Macron to nominate a prime minister from the left-wing alliance.

The crowd gathered near the National Assembly -- the lower chamber of the French parliament -- upon the call of the trade unions, according to the broadcaster BFMTV.

Members of the parliament are expected to arrive at the National Assembly later in the day to elect their new president.

Protesters aim to pressure Macron to get him to nominate a left-wing prime minister as soon as possible.

Around 50 protests are expected across France, BFMTV added.

Macron on Tuesday accepted Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s resignation following snap election results, after initially rejecting it on July 8.

Attal will continue dealing with the government’s current affairs until a new government is formed.

Political parties harshly criticized Macron for rejecting Attal's resignation, delaying the process, and causing instability in the country.

The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) which is expected to get the most seats in the National Assembly started searching for a candidate to propose as prime minister immediately after the second round on July 7.

The intense work led to a divergence of opinion, even divisions inside the NFP, which is looking for a solid name to give Macron.

The New Popular Front could win over 180 seats. The centrist alliance, Together for the Republic, backed by Macron, finished second with over 160 seats, while Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) got over 140 seats.

The National Assembly has 577 seats, and none of the three primary alliances could 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 the 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.