Paris – Political journalists from RFI's French service examine where influential figures from across the political spectrum stand, ahead of the 8 October deadline given to outgoing prime minister Sébastien Lecornu to salvage his administration, following his shock resignation on Monday after less than a month in office.
Emmanuel Macron appears to be more isolated than ever. The president of the Republic is no longer just under pressure from the opposition – he has been abandoned by the leaders within his own camp, among them two of his previous prime ministers.
Gabriel Attal was the first to draw his sword, distancing himself from Macron whose decisions he says he no longer understands.
On Tuesday morning, speaking on France Inter radio, he said: "Most of the time, the decisions have given the impression that, on the contrary, there is no desire to share power. Whereas everything about the results of the 2024 dissolution suggests that power should be shared."
Édouard Philippe went further. The man who Macron appointed as his first prime minister in 2017 has called for the president's early departure from the Élysée Palace, saying: "It seems to me that he would do himself credit if... he announced that he is organising an early presidential election."
Both Attal and Philippe have their sights set on the 2027 presidential election and it would seem they believe that in order to survive politically, they must attack Macron now.
French PM Lecornu quits a day after naming cabinet
Divisions emerge among Republicans
The leader of the right-wing Republicans (LR) deputies, Laurent Wauquiez, lamented on Tuesday during a meeting that the fall of Lecornu's government, caused by LR president Bruno Retailleau, had "damaged the image" of "stability and responsibility" that his party embodied, one participant in the meeting told French news agency AFP.
"I was in favour of not participating [in the executive] but that's not the same as censuring or bringing down a government," said Wauquiez.
Retailleau, the outgoing minister of the interior, sparked the crisis by threatening on Sunday evening to leave the government, in protest at Bruno Le Maire's return to the cabinet, after initially appearing to approve his reappointment as minister of the interior
However, since the dissolution, LR has presented itself as the party of stability – an argument hard to take seriously given Retailleau's hand in current events.
On Tuesday morning, he said on Europe 1: "We have been a stabilising factor. We joined the government for two reasons. The first was to avoid chaos, and the second was to prevent Mélenchon's left wing from entering the Élysée Palace."
Macron gives outgoing French PM final chance to salvage government
Retailleau added: "The main details of the reshuffle are being kept from me. There is a kind of breach of trust, an attempt by the president to subjugate the new government. Today, I say that there are two different things: there is a central bloc and there is the Republicans."
The party is prepared to remain in power, said Retailleau, "on one condition: that it be a government I would call a cohabitation".
This statement, however, further muddies the message of a party with just 50 MPs, which is not calling for dissolution or resignation, and a leader who has presidential ambitions.
Left struggles to agree on strategy
On the left, as is often the case, the parties' strategies differ.
Macron has only three cards left to play: dissolution, cohabitation or resignation. The latter option is favoured by the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) and its coordinator Manuel Bompard.
"The solution to the impasse in which the country finds itself is not the appointment of another government, nor the dissolution of the National Assembly, but the departure of the president of the Republic," he told Aurélien Devernoix of RFI's political department.
However, this would be a mistake, according to the Socialist Party (PS), which advocates for the "cohabitation" option.
Macron as president, with a left-wing government, is the only way to reassure the French people, the party's leader Olivier Faure told TF1, adding: "None of this makes any sense anymore. We need to regain the ability to lead the country, to unite it, around a simple goal: ecological social justice."
Outgoing Prime Minister Lecornu prepares for talks to end political gridlock
The leader of the Green Party, Marine Tondelier, is alone in her desire to save the leftist union.
She said: "We know that the situation has been difficult between our partners. But it is our duty to overcome this, and we are proposing that we meet in a neutral location. Everyone will take responsibility by deciding whether or not to attend this meeting."
This will take place without the Socialists, who prefer to take their chances with Macron rather than engage in another battle with LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
This article was adapted from the original version in French by political journalists Valérie Gas and Raphaël Delvolve, and this article, also from RFI's French political service.
