Macron postpones formation of new government until after Paris Olympics (2024)

The time for Plan B is over. On Tuesday, July 23, interviewed by France 2 television and Radio France in front of an Eiffel Tower adorned with the Olympic rings, Emmanuel Macron looked out over the Seine, confident and proud. With just three days to go before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, the French president can finally see the fruit of the grandiose and audacious scenario planned for the evening of July 26: For the first time, the show will take place outside of a stadium, on the Paris river.

"The security checks have been done," he said. "We will all see on Friday night why it was worth the hassle," boasted Macron, aware that the gated streets and QR codes required around the stands are annoying city dwellers and tourists alike. "The Olympic Games are hosted once a century. An opening ceremony of this magnitude marks a first in the history of the Games," explained the president, his voice covered by the sound of helicopters hovering over the French capital.

The day before, Macron had called for an "Olympic" and "political truce" to ensure that this major sporting event – which, he said, was also a "life lesson" – would not be marred by petty squabbles with his opponents. However, it was Macron himself who put the country in a state of tension by deciding to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale on June 9. Since July 7 and the second round of early legislative elections, the presidential camp no longer has a majority in the Assemblée Nationale. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's resigned government has been reduced to day-to-day affairs.

Self-declared truce

There are no regrets. Even if Macron acknowledges his camp's defeat. "The outgoing majority lost this election," he admitted – adding immediately that "nobody has won." At the risk of appearing deaf to the ballot box's sanction, Macron warned that nothing will change at the top of the government before the end of the Olympic Games. No new prime minister will be appointed during the self-imposed truce. Macron wished for "stability for the country," arguing, "We're not in a situation where we can change things because we'd be creating a mess."

With a wave of the hand, Macron swept aside the name of Lucie Castets, proposed in extremis by the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) left-wing alliance an hour earlier to take up the post of prime minister. The senior civil servant, a financial advisor to Paris City Hall and an expert in fraud repression, is the first name on which the coalition that came out on top on July 7 managed to find an agreement. "Are you going to call her tomorrow and say, 'Come and see me, we'll see if you can put together a government?'" the journalist asked. "That's not the issue," Macron answered.

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