France continues without a government
One and a half months after the left-wing alliance Nouveau Front populaire (NFP) won the most seats in the French parliamentary elections, the government building process is still in limbo. On Friday President Macron – whose camp is seeking a centrist "republican front" to prevent the left-wing populist LFI from joining the government – will receive the NFP's prime ministerial candidate Lucie Castets. Commentators have varying degrees of patience.
Better no government than a bad one
This period without a government also has a positive side, Le Point points out:
“We had to wait until 2024 to recognise the advantages of a long transition phase: Without a cabinet trying to convince voters of the benefits of its existence on a daily basis. Without a 'major law' under discussion in parliament. Without a 'grand plan' being cooked up in the prime minister's office. Without a 'major reform' that will be pulled out of the drawer after the summer holidays. ... The citizens can rest easy, and the economy will be all the better for it. It's better not to be governed at all than to be governed badly.”
Procrastination in face of immense challenges
Le Figaro is frustrated by the delays:
“The members of the National Assembly are enjoying the end of their holidays and indifference is spreading among the French, still basking in the success of the Olympic Games in the absence of a government. So why not just keep on keeping on? A dangerous illusion. Because in reality the challenges facing France are immense: budget consolidation, housing shortages, the fight against illegal immigration, re-industrialisation, support for schools and hospitals, the ecological transition. ... Our country needs a government. And fast.”
Glaring crisis of parliamentarism
Efimerida ton Syntakton is flabbergasted:
“President Macron continues to govern serenely: as if nothing had happened, as if there had been no elections, as if there were no government, no prime minister, no parliament, no political parties: 'The state is me!' This France remains 'an example', but exemplary of a general phenomenon of the last twenty years marked by the crisis of bourgeois representative democracy and liberal parliamentarism. ... After dissolving the National Assembly and calling new elections, Macron is brazenly telling us that the functioning of the Fifth French Republic requires neither elections, nor parliament, nor political parties.”
Immobility not an option
The government must get its act together and fast, L'Opinion demands:
“Don't sit back and wait; this will only strengthen the Rassemblement national. The pitiful spectacle on the left and the attempt by the centre to ostracise parliamentarians from the far right will only fuel the anger of an electorate that is as distressed as it is outraged. Don't wait, because immobility is not an option. The country cannot afford a budget crisis. ... After all, the president alone decided when to dissolve parliament. He lost. And if he still believes he can turn this defeat into a victory, he must not try to do so by organising a comfortable delay, as it would come at the cost of flouting republican traditions.”
Better a mature decision than a rash one
Democratic processes take time, La Croix reassures readers:
“The sequence of events is simply a reminder that choosing a prime minister, building a coalition and drafting a government contract are not things that can be done in a day. ... Of course, a strong executive with an absolute majority is more effective. But that's just the way it is: democracy is made up of endless discussions and broken promises. Of rules and checks and balances that slow down the decision-making process. ... The current confusion is without doubt a necessary gestation period. It will become a highly profitable investment once the negotiations really get going.”