France President Emmanuel Macron is refusing to accept Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s resignation following the surprising outcome of the snap parliamentary elections in France, the Élysée Palace announced on Monday, July 8.
The President prefers Attal to remain prime minister for the time being to ensure the country’s stability, it said.
Attal announced his resignation on Sunday, July 7, after the preliminary results were revealed.
Official results released by the Interior Ministry on Monday showed the French left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) emerged as the surprise victor in Sunday’s run-off election, even if it failed to win an absolute majority.
The new alliance did not go into the elections with a lead candidate.
Macron’s centrist Ensemble bloc came in second place.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right nationalist National Rally (RN), initially seen as the favorite after the first round of voting, came third.
None of the groups achieved an absolute majority, which makes the formation of a government difficult.
