France’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is expected to hand in his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Monday after his party failed to win a majority in parliamentary elections.
But he added that, if his resignation is refused, he was ready to remain in office “as long as duty demands”, with the Paris Olympics due to begin in three weeks.
Meanwhile, an alliance of French left-wing parties was on course Sunday to become the biggest parliamentary bloc by beating the far right and President Emmanuel Macron’s coalition, according to surprise projected results.
No one group won an absolute majority in the poll, plunging France into political limbo with no clear path to forming a new government, two days before a major NATO summit and three weeks before the Paris Olympics.
Attal said he would offer Macron his resignation on Monday but was ready to serve “as long as duty demands”, notably in light of the imminent Games.
The New Popular Front (NFP) — formed last month after Macron called snap elections — brought together the previously deeply-divided Socialists, Greens, Communists and the hard-left France Unbowed together in one camp.
Nevertheless, veteran presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) led the race after the June 30 first round of voting, with opinion polls predicting that she would lead the biggest party in parliament after Sunday’s run-off.
