French parliament reopens after defeat to Macron

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French parliament reopens after defeat to Macron

After an election upset President Emmanuel Macron whose centrist allies are little closer to building a stable majority, France's lower house of parliament is reopening Tuesday after a defeat to him, putting Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's job on the line.

After this month's ballot surges for the far right and hard left, opposition forces have made clear that they will not be lured into a lasting arrangement to support Macron's government, which is 37 seats short of a majority.

Borne and other senior Macron backers have been trying to win over individual right-wing and moderate left parliamentarians to bolster their ranks, with one MP telling AFP that the phones are running hot. But Olivier Marleix, head of the conservative Republicans group seen as most compatible with Macron, said we have much better things to do today than sell ourselves piecemeal It's about making progress for the French people, he told Europe 1 radio on Monday.

He said that his MPs would do everything they can to get an agreement with the government on an upcoming draft law to boost households' purchasing power in the face of food and energy inflation.

It is not in the interest of parties who have just been elected to make a long-term deal to support the government, according to Marc Lazar, a professor at Paris' Institute of Political Studies Sciences Po. The first days of the new National Assembly will be taken up with elections for Speaker and other senior parliamentary officials and committee chiefs.

Pro-Macron candidate Yael Braun-Pivet is expected to be the first woman in French history to hold the Speaker's Chair in a series of votes Tuesday.

On the same day, parties with at least 15 members will be able to form official groups that enjoy more influence and speaking time.

One key question is whether Thursday's vote to head the Finance Committee - with its extensive powers to scrutinise government spending - will be won by an MP from the far-right National Rally RN Led by Macron's defeated presidential opponent, Marine Le Pen, the RN would usually have a claim on the post as the largest single opposition party.

It could face a tough challenge if the left alliance of the NUPES, containing Greens, Communists, Socialists and the hard-left France Unbowed LFI can agree on a joint candidate.

The exchanges could be heating up next week as the government chief Borne gives a speech setting out her policy priorities.

It is not yet clear whether Borne will call the traditional vote of confidence following her appearance - which is not strictly required under France's Fifth Republic constitution.

Macron told the weekend that he had decided to confirm his confidence in Elisabeth Borne and asked her to continue the talks to find allies for the government in parliament or at least backing for crucial confidence and budget votes.

Macron ruled out higher public borrowing and tax increases in compromise deals with other parties.

Some observers see the compressed calendar as ambitious after he returns from this week's G 7 and NATO meetings in Germany and Belgium in the first few days of July.

In all other European countries, when they're in talks to form a government it can take months rather than the days that Macron has allowed, according to political scientist Lazar.

Even as the government projects business as usual, hard-left LFI has vowed to try to prevent key proposals like a flagship reform to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 65.

He said there was no possible agreement with Macron on Sunday, and that cooperation would make no sense. He added that he hasn't heard Macron move or back down one iota on pension reform or other controversial policies.