Political chaos in France after Macron refuses to name PM from leftwing coalition
www.theguardian.com
More talks to take place on Tuesday as president attempts to find a PM who can command cross-party support
  • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    0·
    24 days ago

    I know fuck all about French politics, but it seems strange that he doesn’t just appoint the candidate from the left. It sounds like it’s a fucked up non-functional situation, so he should just let them try to do the impossible and then fail. He’s probably worried that she might actually succeed and is holding out hope for some way to cobble together something as close as possible to the centrist coalition that shit the bed in the first place.

    • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      24 days ago

      Agreed. His excuse rings a little hollow. If there would be a no confidence vote, so be it. Give the left their PM, and if they get thrown out, then move forward with your compromise candidate.

      • Rimu@piefed.socialEnglish
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        24 days ago

        If the candidate from the largest coalition can’t survive a no confidence vote then I don’t see how any other candidate would.

        • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
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          23 days ago

          Usually its less about group membership and more about individual positions on individual issues. Usually anyway. You’d think there’d be at least someone from either the left or center that the other would find more amenable due to having a few things in common with the other one.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
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    24 days ago

    The president had hoped consultations would break the political deadlock caused by the election that left the Assemblée Nationale divided into three roughly equal blocks – left, centre and far right – none of which has a majority of seats.

    So, in parliamentary systems – which, for these purposes, France is similar to – typically this is dealt with via multiple factions making concessions to each other and forming a coalition. Is that an option?

    kagis

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/09/french-government-risks-no-confidence-motion-as-leaders-rule-out-coalitions

    France’s aversion to coalitions means any new government risks early collapse

    In France, however, political leaders from left and right have lined up to rule out a coalition government after Sunday’s snap election produced a parliament of three roughly equal blocs – none with a majority, and all with wildly differing platforms.

    Well.

      • Antmz22@lemm.eeEnglish
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        23 days ago

        presumably the elected havent decided yet

        Yeah maybe

        …or maybe Macron is opposing the Democratic decision to select Lucie Castets?

        From the article.

        NFP has put forward Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist and director of financial affairs at Paris City Hall, as its candidate. After Monday’s announcement, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the LFI president, accused Macron of creating an “exceptionally serious situation”.

  • febra@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    23 days ago

    So he’s pulling a Maduro. No kind of interest paid to the first place party, but I guess we won’t hear any neolibs complain about that.

  • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
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    23 days ago

    So call a second election. The people will solve the impasse. Either a majority emerges or eventually the parties, exhausted by campaigning, will learn to compromise and make a coalition. Democracy will find a way.

        • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          23 days ago

          You can’t repeatedly dissolve the chamber. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

          The real problem isn’t with the constitution. It’s with the fact that the French are no longer able to create coalitions around a project. The whole political system is built around the idea that one group has a majority and does as it pleases until the next election. Talking to others is completely alien to them. And that is a real problem.

          Most of the other European countries work with coalitions. It makes much more sense (I understand that this is alien to US people).

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            23 days ago

            Most of the other European countries work with coalitions. It makes much more sense

            Eh. Post WW2 European “coalitions” are largely just iterations of the modern Democratic Party subdivided by region and cultural touchstone. There isn’t a huge ideological gap between German Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists, Free Democrats, and Greens, for instance. The real divide is between East and West, and that’s where you get a rump AfD that grew out of the corpse of GDR Communists.

            Similarly, Macron’s En Marche party is itself this coalition of French business interests that are terrified of Melanchon and conservative nationalists who don’t sit well with LePen’s National Front. He’s synthesized a position between his old boss Hollande’s champagne socialism and Sarkozy’s moderate business friendly white nationalism. But now all the half measures have dried up his base of support.

            Spain’s government is similarly bifricated along lines that go back to the civil war of the 1930s. Italy’s is a hogpodge of parties that are still strictly aligned with the industrial north or rural south. You can repeat this pattern across the entire continent. Yeah, a multi-party system exists, but the coalitions are ultimately all defined by their relationships to international business. Are you the finance friendly international markets party or are you the angry proletarian outsiders?

            The social policies of the parties might vary based on whether the base is liberally cosmopolitan or conservatively rural. But the root of the divide always comes down to questions of profit.

        • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
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          23 days ago

          I expect that as a random US person, coming onto a native, you have at least spent some university time on European political systems to have some arguments?

          1. the constitution doesn’t allow for another election
          2. there’s actually never been such a situation in this constitution (yes, our constitutions are just laws, not gods given sacred scrolls, so we change them whenever they’re no longer adequate), and the current politicians cannot fathom working without a majority (although that was typical in the third and fourth republic, and in a lot of the other euro countries)
          3. the president wants a so called “technical” government that will just do as it’s told while the chambers fight among themselves

          And yes, it’s a shitshow. Shall we go back to how you’re about to elect an insane game show host along with a guy that’s had half his brain eaten by a worm?

          • Tryptaminev@lemm.eeEnglish
            0·
            23 days ago

            Could you explain please why another election is not allowed in France? I though Macron dissolved the parliament early for a new election, which brought us to this situation in the first place.

            • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
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              23 days ago

              The constitution says that you can only do it once a year. Which makes sense as you have to deal with the stupid decisions you make.

          • Snowclone@lemmy.worldEnglish
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            23 days ago

            Trump has no hope next to Harris, Biden stepping down has been the smartest move I’ve seen from Democrats since runnng Obama, people are energized, no one wants the other confused old guy.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            23 days ago

            Shall we go back to how you’re about to elect an insane game show host

            Hey now. There’s slightly over a 50% chance we get the coconut lady, instead.

      • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        As a Greek I have some familiarity. Our politics is just as adversarial (if not more) and there is no tradition of coalitions. But when push came to shove, they figured it out, if only for a bit.

        • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
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          23 days ago

          While Greece was arguably mismanaged, it didn’t deserve the harshness it got. But the same political mess could well be in the future of France.

  • MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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    22 days ago

    I hate headlines like this. There is no “chaos”. A bunch of politicians are arguing and having meetings. Bureaucracy chunters along as usual. Paralympics are happening.

    If the politicians were having shootouts in the Champs Elysées and disrupting traffic then yes, a bit of chaos in Paris. But they’re not. Sigh.

    • xenoclast@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      22 days ago

      Yeah, It’s fucking France. People set fire to police cars because it’s Tuesday. This is not a big deal.

      It’s the Guardian so you get what you expect. Inflammatory headlines for clicks.

    • zaphod@sopuli.xyzEnglish
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      22 days ago

      AFAIK he’s not talking to RN either, and if you look at actual parties and not groups then RN is the strongest party. It looks more like he’s trying to break the NFP to get the support of some of the parties like social democrats or greens, because in such a coalition his party would be the strongest. In a coalition with RN his party wouldn’t be the strongest and would have a hard time claiming the prime minister position.