Macron does not want a far-left prime minister

(Patria) - French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he will not agree to a government led by the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, which won the most seats in last month's parliamentary elections, the BBC reported.

Macron said France needs institutional stability and that the left cannot win a vote of confidence in parliament.

The NFP, which has proposed the relatively unknown civil servant Lucie Castets as its candidate for prime minister, has called for street protests and the impeachment of President Macron in response.

Macron, whose centrists came second in July, said he would begin new consultations with party leaders today and called on the left to cooperate with other political forces.

No group managed to win a majority in the elections, with the NFP winning over 190 seats, Macron's centrist Ensemble alliance 160, and the far-right National Rally (RN) 140.

A caretaker government has been running France since then, including during the Paris Olympics, infuriating the NFP. Macron has been in talks about a new government since the elections and said he would continue to do so.

“My responsibility is that the country is not blocked or weakened,” he said yesterday. “The Socialist Party, the Greens and the Communists have not yet proposed ways to cooperate with other political forces. It is now up to them to do so.”

However, he conspicuously failed to mention one of the main elements that make up the NFP, the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) movement.

LFI reacted angrily to the president's words, with national coordinator Manuel Bompard describing them as an “unacceptable anti-democratic blow”.

Communist leader Fabien Roussel said Macron would provoke a “serious crisis in our country,” and Green leader Marine Tondelier said three-quarters of people want a “political break with Macronism.”

The left-wing coalition had previously refused to participate in future consultations unless the candidacy of Castets for prime minister was discussed.

However, the 37-year-old economist was not elected and is considered an unlikely presidential choice. Both Ensemble and RN have pledged to reject candidates from the NFP.

After meeting with Macron on Monday, RN leaders Marine le Pen and Jordan Bardella described the NFP as a “danger” to France.

Other names being discussed in political circles include former Socialist interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Xavier Bertrand, who is a centre-right Republican regional leader.