The success of the Paris Olympics 2024 has exceeded even the dreams of many in France, but in the next few weeks President Emmanuel Macron will still have to face the reality of the politics of deadlock created by calls for quick legislative elections.
With the Olympic Games fast approaching, France is left with three major factions in parliament – the left-wing is the largest, followed by Macron’s centrist forces and right-wing forces – none of which are close to garnering the numbers needed for an overall majority.
The former government of Macron’s allies, led by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, served in a caretaker capacity throughout the Olympic Games, but five weeks after the elections, the country still has no new prime minister.
Macron is perhaps hoping the Games will boost his struggling fortunes in the same way that winning and hosting the 1998 soccer World Cup boosted former President Jacques Chirac’s popularity ratings.
But despite the spotlight on Paris hosting the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8, Macron may have to face reality.
Although the Games have dispelled some of the gloom that had settled over France, it is far from certain that they will provide any new impetus to the remaining three years of the unpopular president’s term.
‘Very angry’
Prominent political commentator Emmanuel Rivière said, “The fact that things are going well, that we are being seen abroad as beautiful and successful, has influenced a country that was facing decline and was no longer capable of doing great things collectively.”
“This changes the collective mood, but it does not change the political situation: the situation remains deadlocked, many voters are disappointed… French people are putting things into perspective and are very angry with Emmanuel Macron.”
With Macron’s approval ratings hovering below 30 percent, the president made little headway during the election campaign and the Games, spending much of the Olympics at the French president’s Mediterranean holiday residence and only occasionally visiting Paris.
“The country needed this moment of unity. In terms of the political impact, I am very cautious,” a minister in the outgoing government told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another said, “As far as the Olympics are concerned, we cannot make it a partisan success.”
‘Political change’
The first priority for Macron will be to name and gain approval for a new prime minister and government, a process that appears as stalled as ever before the Games.
The leftist New Popular Front, which emerged as the largest bloc after the election, has said it wants economist Lucie Castets to become the new prime minister.
Macron’s forces have shown little interest in this idea, preferring an alliance with the traditional right, with Xavier Bertrand, a former Chirac-era minister and current premier of the northern Hauts de France region, often cited as a candidate to lead a centre-right coalition.
Outgoing Equality Minister Aurore Bergé named Bertrand as a possible candidate, along with former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and Senate Speaker Gerard Larcher, saying they had “solid experience in government, parliament and negotiations.”
Castets objected, saying naming him would be a “distraction”, while Greens leader Marine Tondelier accused Macron of exploiting the political “truce” he has called for in the run-up to the Olympics.
He said “this Olympic truce is not just because Emmanuel Macron is tired, but because he needs time” and “to prevent any attempt at political change”.
It was expected that Macron could announce a new prime minister in the break between the Olympics, which end on Sunday, and the Paralympics opening on August 28.
But as visitors and Parisians gaze in awe at the balloon-mounted Olympic cauldron one last time, executive sources have played down the prospects of a quick breakthrough.
“It (the Olympics) will calm things down because the idea of working together will be less absurd,” said a senior figure close to Macron, who asked not to be named.
“But it’s not because we went to take a selfie in front of a cauldron with half of Paris that we’re suddenly going to form an alliance.”
Macron, who is known to use his holidays at the Fort de Bregançon holiday residence for intense study and contemplation, is “still thinking”, according to a person close to him.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
