By Paris, France, July 2024 – French President Emmanuel Macron is widely anticipated to formally accept the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Tuesday, while retaining him as the head of a caretaker government.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal offered his resignation last week following a chaotic election result that left the government in disarray. President Macron asked Attal to temporarily remain as the head of the government pending further decisions, especially as France prepares to host the Paris Olympics and remains under international scrutiny.
French media reports indicate that Macron is expected to formally accept Attal’s resignation by Tuesday evening. This move would enable Attal to resume his role as a lawmaker in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of government, and lead Macron’s centrist allies. It would also protect him from a potential no-confidence vote in parliament.
The opening session of the National Assembly is scheduled for Thursday. The caretaker government, led by Attal, will focus solely on handling day-to-day affairs until a new prime minister is appointed. There is no firm timeline for Macron to name Attal’s successor, although a Cabinet meeting was held on Tuesday.
France has been teetering on the edge of a governmental paralysis since the National Assembly elections earlier this month. The elections resulted in a split among three major political factions: The New Popular Front leftist coalition, Macron’s centrist allies, and the far-right National Rally led by Marine Le Pen.
While Macron’s centrist party won the most seats, it fell short of achieving an outright majority needed to govern independently. The leftist coalition’s three main parties, the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialist Party, and the Greens, have pressed the president to unite them to form the government.
