‘I won’t be dissolving parliament again,’ says President Macron

President Emmanuel Macron gave a 40 minute interview on TV last night – his first since the legislative election results – in which he discussed France’s political situation and the Olympic Games, including the possibility of Céline Dion performing at the opening ceremony.

Here is a summary of the points he made:

1: Political situation and the left’s candidate for prime minister 

• A new prime minister will not be appointed until at least mid-August, after the end of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Resigning Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will lead a caretaker government until then. This timing will give factions within the Assemblée nationale the chance to come up with potential alliances, in the hope of a broader coalition of parties forming a majority government (289 seats or more of the 577 available), he added.

• He called for an Olympic ‘truce’ between political parties during the Games, whilst various groups attempt to form a broad governing alliance. “Depending on the progress of these discussions, it will be my responsibility to appoint a prime minister and entrust them with the task of forming a government,” he said, adding that he hopes the discussions will “bring together the broadest possible grouping to enable it to act and achieve stability.”

• He largely dismissed the candidacy of Lucie Castets, a senior civil servant, put forward for the post of PM by the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) late yesterday afternoon just before his TV interview.

• He does not view the NFP as the ‘majority’ group in parliament, despite them having the largest number of seats of any electoral alliance. “The question is not [what group picks a name first]. The question is what majority can emerge in the Assemblée nationale so that a government can pass reforms, pass a budget and move the country forward,” he said.

• He also highlighted the re-election of Yaël Braun-Pivet as president of the Assemblée nationale as a sign his party were the most supported in the chamber, and not the NFP.

• He said that it was unfair that MPs from the far-right Rassemblement National, as the largest single party in the chamber, did not receive any of the parliamentary posts voted on last week for the Assemblée nationale.

2: Paris Olympics

• He said it would be fantastic if Céline Dion made an appearance at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday (July 26). It comes after she was spotted arriving in Paris earlier this week, and Olympic Games minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said her arrival “was not by chance.” Lady Gaga has also been rumoured to perform at the event.

• The Games will remain ‘apolitical’, and France will adhere to the rulings of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) on any potential situation that arises during the event. This includes over the inclusion of Israeli athletes, who the president said were welcome.

3: Winter Olympics

• He commented on France’s bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, saying it would be “excellent.” The bid, by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur regions, was announced as the winning candidate today (July 24).

4: His resignation and dissolution of parliament

• He confirmed he would not step down from his current role, and would carry out the full length of his second term (until 2027). At that point, constitutional rules means he cannot run for a third consecutive term.

• He committed to not dissolving parliament again during his time in office, despite the fractured make-up of the current Assemblée nationale.

Read more: If Macron resigns now as president could he stand again in 2027?

Earlier this week, the right-wing Droite républicaine group (formerly Les Républicains) announced a list of 13 key measures they would vote in favour of, if brought to the table by Macron’s centrist party. 

However, leaders of the group and its 47 MPs expressly ruled out forming an official coalition with the centrists

Read more: Tax, immigration, pensions: right-wing French MPs list what they will support