Three centre-left parties – the Socialists, the Greens and the Communists – broke ranks with the more radical left LFI and took part in talks to form a new government.
However, they have made it clear they want to see a left-wing prime minister of their choice if they are to enter a broad government.
“I told you I wanted someone from the left and the Greens, and I think Mr Bairou is neither the one nor the other,” Greens leader Marine Tandelier told French television on Thursday, adding that she did not see the centrist camp , who lost the parliament in the elections, could hold the position of prime minister and follow the same policy.
However, she also said that she did not support Bernard Cazeneuve, even though he was a socialist: “He spoke about us only to criticize us. He cannot represent us.”
Relations between the centre-left and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical LFI appear to have soured over the three parties’ decision to continue talks with President Macron.
After the LFI leader urged his former allies to stay away from the coalition deal, the Socialists’ Olivier Faure told French television that “the more Mélenchon shouts, the less he is heard”.
Marine Le Pen, meanwhile, has called for the next government to take into account her party’s cost of living policies, creating a budget that “does not cross the red lines of each party”.
Michel Barnier’s interim government has put forward a bill that would maintain the provisions of the budget for 2024 and the following year. But the new budget for 2025 will have to be approved as soon as the next government takes office.
