President Macron’s predecessor, François Hollande, has accused him of “institutional failure” for his refusal to appoint a prime minister from the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF), which won the most seats in elections last month, reports The Times.
Hollande, 70, who launched Macron’s political career when he made him economy minister in 2014, blamed him for the crisis prompted by the elections, which ended with no party in parliament having a working majority.
Macron, 46, has refused to appoint Lucie Castets, the NPF’s prime ministerial candidate, saying she would be certain to lose a vote of no confidence. The NPF has fewer than 200 MPs, well short of an absolute majority of 289.
Hollande said Macron should nevertheless have appointed Castets, 37, to see whether she could woo MPs from other camps. “It is an institutional failure,” he said.
More than seven weeks after the elections, France is still being governed by Macron’s outgoing centrist cabinet in a caretaker role. However, the government is unable to perform such elementary tasks as announcing a budget for 2025, which is due to be put before parliament by the end of next month.