French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced his intention to offer his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Monday following his party’s failure to secure a majority in the parliamentary elections.
However, Attal also expressed his readiness to remain in office if required, especially with the Paris Olympics just three weeks away.
Meanwhile, a coalition of French left-wing parties has emerged as the largest parliamentary bloc, surpassing both the far right and President Macron’s coalition, according to unexpected projections.
No single group won an absolute majority in the election, leaving France in a state of political uncertainty just days before a major NATO summit and weeks before the Olympics.
Attal reiterated his willingness to serve “as long as duty demands” given the upcoming Games.
The New Popular Front (NFP) — a coalition formed last month after Macron called for snap elections — united the previously divided Socialists, Greens, Communists, and the hard-left France Unbowed into one faction.
Despite this, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) led the first round of voting on June 30. Opinion polls suggested that her party would become the largest in parliament after the runoff.
However, projections from major polling agencies on Sunday indicated that no group would achieve an absolute majority, with the left-wing NFP ahead of both Macron’s centrist Ensemble and Le Pen’s RN.
Macron has not yet commented publicly on the projections, calling for “prudence and analysis of the results,” according to an aide.
Le Pen, meanwhile, declared, “The tide is rising. It did not rise high enough this time, but it continues to rise and, consequently, our victory has only been delayed.”
