France’s powerful lower house, the National Assembly, is holding an opening session to elect a speaker after a chaotic general election left the parliament divided.
PARIS — The National Assembly, France’s powerful lower house, held an opening session on Thursday to choose a speaker following chaotic general elections called by President Emmanuel Macron that pitted ruling and opposition parties against each other.
Parliamentary elections earlier this month split the three main political forces – the left-wing New Popular Front coalition, Macron’s centrist alliance and the far-right Rally National – with none winning a majority.
Ahead of the opening of the National Assembly, President Macron on Tuesday accepted the resignations of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and other cabinet ministers but asked them to run a caretaker government to handle issues until a new government is in place, with France due to host the Paris Olympics later this month.
Politicians from the three major parties and smaller parties are vying for the speaker’s position, with each side seeking to flex their muscles in the hope of influencing the future nomination of prime minister. Six candidates are in the running.
To win, a candidate must receive at least half of the votes from the 577 members of parliament in either the first or second round of voting.
If no candidate passes that threshold, the candidate who receives the most votes in the third round wins.
Members of the New Popular Front, which won the most seats in parliament, have called on the president to form a new government, but its main parties – the far-left Indefatigable France, the Socialists, the Greens and the Communists – are still at odds over who to choose as their candidate for prime minister.
After days of tense discussions, the two sides agreed on Thursday to run jointly for the speaker position, selecting André Chassaigne, a 74-year-old Communist figure who has served as a member of parliament since 2002 and is known for his close involvement in parliamentary life.
Trade unions and left-wing activists held protests across the country on Thursday to “pressure” President Macron to choose a member of the New Popular Front as prime minister.
There is no clear timeline for when the president must name a new prime minister.
