Macron rules out resignation, regardless of French election outcome

French President Emmanuel Macron said on June 11 that he would not resign “regardless of the outcome” of the upcoming French parliamentary elections.

Earlier, on June 9, Mr. Macron unexpectedly called for early elections – a move that was seen as a response to the far-right National Rally (NR) party’s big win in the European Parliament (EP) elections. The rise of the far-right has increased pressure on his centrist government.

“It is not the NR that writes the Constitution or its spirit,” Mr Macron said in an interview with French magazine Le Figaro. “The institutions are clear and so is the position of the President, regardless of the outcome.”

This was Mr Macron's response when he was asked if he was ready to resign if far-right politician Marine Le Pen's NR party wins parliamentary elections later this month and urges him to step down.

The question was interspersed with rumors that began circulating early on June 11 that he was considering resigning, which the Elysée Palace (the French President's Office) denied.

Not only did he rule out resigning, Mr Macron also said he would be directly involved in the election campaign and warned against assuming that the results achieved by the NR Party in the EU Parliament elections would be repeated in the French National Assembly elections, which have a different voting system.

France will hold the first round of parliamentary elections on June 30 and the second round will take place on July 7.

French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's offer to resign. Macron said Prime Minister Attal was the 'best person' to lead the election campaign. Earlier, on June 10, 2024, Attal had expressed his intention to resign. Photo: The Telegraph

“Politics is dynamic. I have never believed in opinion polls. My decision opens a new era. A new campaign begins and we should look at the scores of each constituency based on the scores of the European elections,” Mr Macron added.

President Macron will kick off his campaign with a press conference at a Paris hotel on June 12, an event originally scheduled for June 11.

In another development, Mr. Eric Ciotti, leader of the Republican Party (LR) - a traditional political party in France, said on June 11 that he supports an alliance with Ms. Le Pen's far-right party in early legislative elections.

The announcement caused a crisis within his own party and anger from the government as it was the first time in modern French political history that the leader of a traditional party had backed a coalition with a far-right party.

“We need to have an alliance while remaining ourselves… an alliance with the RN and its candidates,” Mr Ciotti told TF1 television, adding that he had held discussions with Ms Le Pen, the presidential candidate who has twice faced Mr Macron, and RN leader Jordan Bardella.

France's simmering political crisis, the rise of the far-right and the decision to hold early elections have all unsettled markets, with credit agencies and experts warning that political instability and a possible NR victory would undermine France's efforts to cut its worrying public debt .

Minh Duc (According to Politico EU, AFP/France24)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ong-macron-loai-tru-viec-tu-chuc-bat-ke-ket-qua-cua-cuoc-bau-cu-phap-a667940.html