With just 15 days remaining until the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, a leader of a major French union has urged for mass strikes to pressure President Emmanuel Macron into acknowledging the results of recent legislative elections and allowing a leftist coalition to form a new government.
Following Sunday's vote for the National Assembly, France finds itself on the verge of a governing standstill as the legislature is now divided among three main political groupings: the New Popular Front leftist coalition, Macron’s centrist allies, and the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen.
While the New Popular Front alliance secured the most seats in the legislature, they fell short of an outright majority to govern independently. The alliance, comprising the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialists, and the Greens, has called on President Macron to consider them for forming the new government.
The general secretary of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, emphasized the importance of respecting the election results, warning that failure to do so could lead to chaos in the country. Binet urged union members to participate in rallies and demonstrations to ensure that the National Assembly is held accountable.
President Macron has tasked his prime minister, Gabriel Attal, with managing day-to-day affairs despite Attal's offer to resign. Macron stated that he will wait for the political parties to establish a “Republican” majority in the National Assembly before selecting a new prime minister, a decision that has sparked frustration among the leftist coalition and the unions.
The inaugural session of the new legislature is set to take place on July 18, just days before the commencement of the Olympic Games in Paris.
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