Emmanuel Macron refuses to name left-wing government to lead France, citing 'institutional stability' threat

The political deadlock in France is nowhere near to being resolved after President Emmanuel Macron ruled out naming a left-wing government on Monday (Aug 26).

Citing threat to the "institutional stability" of the country, Macron said he would initiate fresh talks to find a new prime minister.

“My responsibility is that the country is not blocked nor weakened," said Macron in a statement, calling on"all political leaders to rise to the occasion by demonstrating a spirit of responsibility".

Macron added that a left-wing government"would be immediately censored by all the other groups represented in the National Assembly andthe institutional stability of our country therefore requires us not to choose this option".

Notably, the left-wing parties had pushed Macron to name 37-year-old economist and civil servant Lucie Castets as prime minister. However, the president has remained steadfast in his defiance.

Contrary to most opinion polls that predicted a sweep by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party, the second round of the French parliamentary elections served a major twist in July.The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliancewon the most seats, beating both the far right and President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition.

Watch |France: Seven weeks after the elections, no Prime Minister in sight

What next for France?

The 577-seat National Assembly was left divided with NFP having over 190 seats, followed by Macron's centrist alliance at around 160 while the far-right was limited to 140 seats.

Since then, NFP,particularly the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) has demanded to form the government but Macron and his allies have vowed to vote the coalition down if any confidence vote takes place.

Meanwhile, LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called for a strong response and urged the public and politicians to move a "motion for impeachment" against the president.

Currently,Gabriel Attal is serving as the caretaker government leader since the election results were announced in early July.

For Macron, the outcome of the parliamentary elections, called three years ahead of schedule came as a surprise as he attempted to reshape the political landscape of France.

The president now has the task to steer France through its most severe political uncertainty in decades which appears to have been engineered by his 'snap' decision.

(With inputs from agencies)