France's left calls for protests as Macron pushes fresh talks on forming government
French President Emmanuel Macron is struggling to launch a second round of negotiations over the appointment of a new government after on Tuesday having ruled out naming a prime minister from the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition, which won the most seats in parliament in July’s snap legislative elections. The leftist France Unbowed party has called for popular demonstrations on September 7, with leaders from the Socialist and Communist parties also saying they would take to the streets in protest.
President Emmanuel Macron faced an uphill battle Tuesday as he tried to revive negotiations over a new government for France, with the leftist alliance refusing to take part after he rejected its candidate for prime minister.
More than seven weeks after an inconclusive parliamentary election that cost his allies their relative majority, Macron has still not named a new prime minister to take over from the current caretaker administration.
The president said Tuesday that he was meeting "anyone who wants to come and work for the overriding national interest" after several rounds of talks over the weekend and Monday failed to produce a breakthrough.
"Work is going ahead" and "the door is open" to prospective partners, he told reporters at his Elysee palace office in Paris.
Members of the president's camp say that Macron did not expect the leftist bloc to resist his efforts to split them.
(AFP)
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