French President Emmanuel Macron continues to meet with members of the French political class in search of a new prime minister.
In this context, Macron will receive, on Monday, both former Socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and the leader of the Republicans (right) party, Xavier Bertrand, about two months after the legislative elections that produced a National Assembly that lacks a majority.
The announcement of the two meetings is evidence of the acceleration of the consultations that are entering their final stage after 55 days of crisis. The names of the two former ministers, one from the left and the other from the right, are being mentioned to assume the presidency of the government in light of the extremely complex political scene.
Macron will meet Cazeneuve in the morning, who observers see as the front-runner. A source close to the president said that appointing him prime minister was “a possibility but not certain”, adding: “It is an option but we have to look closely.”
The president will then meet his predecessors, François Hollande (2012-2017) and Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012). He is expected to receive Xavier Bertrand at the Élysée in the afternoon.
According to Macron’s circles, a new prime minister is likely to be appointed on Tuesday.
Bernard Cazeneuve was interior minister at the time of the deadly terrorist attacks in 2015 and was appointed prime minister by Hollande in the final months of his term.
Macron is looking for a prime minister whose appointment will not be blocked by political forces in the National Assembly.
Therefore, he ruled out the appointment of Lucie Castet, proposed by the “New Popular Front”, the leftist alliance that came first in the recent legislative elections.
Forming a new government has become urgent, with the 2025 budget to be submitted to parliament by October 1 at the latest.
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