2 months ago
17
In a confidential vote on Thursday afternoon, the 577 MPs of the lower house will elect their president, a role ranked fourth in government hierarchy, as the newly constituted assembly convenes for the first time, according to a report read more
 "France’s hung parliament to vote on new Assembly president today")
Police vans park outside the National Assembly during the second round of the legislative elections in Paris on July 7, 2024. AP File
Newly elected lawmakers in France are currently vying for alliances to secure the prestigious position of president of the National Assembly, marking the first test of power dynamics in the country’s hung parliament.
The National Assembly is roughly split between three blocs: the leftist New Popular Front coalition, the centrist camp of President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party.
According to a Financial Times report, in a confidential vote on Thursday afternoon, the 577 MPs of the lower house will elect their president, a role ranked fourth in government hierarchy, as the newly constituted assembly convenes for the first time.
Following the July 7 elections, no single party or alliance in France commands an outright majority. Consequently, a new government has yet to form, with President Emmanuel Macron entrusting outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to continue in a caretaker capacity.
The selection of the Assembly’s president has assumed heightened significance, as it could serve as a stepping stone for a faction to assert its claim to the prime ministership or facilitate the emergence of a new coalition.
The president oversees parliamentary debates, makes crucial appointments such as to the constitutional court, and has the authority to refer draft laws for constitutional scrutiny.
“The choice of the president of the assembly is usually important but this time it is exceptionally important since the person will have to guarantee the fairness of debates and help craft much-needed compromise,” Financial Times quoted Jean Garrigues, a historian specialising in French institutions, as saying.
He said it would also “provide a signal” of who might become prime minister, “perhaps in a technical government if no political one can be formed”.
France has been plunged into political uncertainty since June 9, when Macron dissolved parliament and called the snap legislative elections in a surprise move after the National Rally’s victory in the European Parliament elections.
With inputs from agencies
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
English (US) ·