French president to unveil new government in days after La République En Marche won 350 of 577 seats on Sunday

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will announce a new cabinet within days after his start-up centrist political movement swept to a commanding majority in parliamentary elections on a promise of renovating the country’s politics.

The prime minister, Édouard Philippe, resigned on Monday as required after a parliamentary poll. Christophe Castaner, a government spokesman, told RTL radio that Philippe would be reappointed at the head of the new government “over the next few days”.

Macron’s La République En Marche (La REM) party, which did not exist 16 months ago, won 350 of the 577 lower house seats in Sunday’s election with its centre-right ally, MoDem, securing the majority needed to push through far-reaching economic and social reforms.

Castaner said the reshuffle would be “technical and not far-reaching”, adding that the record-high abstention rate in the election – only 43% of voters turned out for Sunday’s second round – highlighted the need for political change.

The turnout represented “a collective failure” for France’s political class, he said. While the government had “a clear majority that we hope will prove effective”, he added, “the real victory will be in five years’ time when we have really changed things”.

One definite change in the cabinet is set to be the departure of Richard Ferrand, the minister of territorial planning and a close friend of Macron’s, who is facing a preliminary investigation for nepotism and financial impropriety.

Le Monde newspaper reported that Ferrand, who ran the president’s election campaign, had agreed to stand down from the government and would instead lead the La REM parliamentary group.



The new parliament, which holds its first session next week, will look very different: 75% of its MPs have not previously occupied a seat in the assembly, their average age has fallen seven years to 48, and a record number – 223, or 38.7% – are women.

Macron, a former investment banker and economy minister, became France’s youngest leader since Napoleon when he defeated the far-right’s Marine Le Pen in last month’s presidential elections. Macron, 39, has redrawn the country’s political landscape.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aurore Bergé is one of La REM’s newly elected MPs and one of the 38.7% of the national assembly’s women representatives. Photograph: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

“Victory for the Centre” was the headline of the left-leaning Libération newspaper, while the rightwing Le Figaro chose “After the Elysée, the Assemblée” and the financial daily Les Echos’ read “The Successful Gamble”.

The traditional parties of government, the centre-right Les Républicains and centre-left Socialists, were routed in a La REM landgrab that, though less overwhelming than forecast after the first round of voting, leaves them weakened and prey to in-fighting.



With 137 seats, Les Républicains and their allies are the main opposition group, although some of their MPs have already pledged broad allegiance to La REM and many are expected to vote with Macron’s party on key issues, including labour reform.

The Socialists shed more than 250 seats and ended up with just 29 MPs. Punished for the high unemployment and declining national confidence that marked the former president François Hollande’s five years in power, the party is now in crisis.

Its leader, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, who was knocked out in the first round, resigned on Sunday. The former prime minister Manuel Valls clung on to his seat, but others including the education minister, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, and labour minister Myriam El Khomri lost theirs.

The stiffest resistance to Macron’s far-reaching plans to boost France’s lacklustre economy and create jobs will come from the radical left. Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed won 17 seats, enough to form a parliamentary group for extra funds and speaking time.

The Communist party also returned 10 MPs. On the far right, Le Pen won – for the first time in four attempts – in her northern stronghold of Hénin-Beaumont. But with just eight MPs, her Front National (FN) fell a long way short of its goal of becoming the main opposition party.

The FN said on Monday it still hoped to be able to form a parliamentary group, which requires a minimum of 15 MPs, by joining forces with like-minded rightwing deputies to oppose the government on a number of specific policies.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest France’s far-right National Front party leader, Marine Le Pen, won in her stronghold of Hénin-Beaumont for the first time in four attempts. Photograph: Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images

Macron’s government is expected to start pushing a series of measures, aimed at strengthening security, strengthening legislation on ethics in public life and reforming employment laws, through parliament during a special session starting on 27 June.

The new president’s confident start at home and on the international stage has led to positive headlines around the world. But the high abstention rate is a reminder that he will have to tread carefully with his planned reforms.

Large parliamentary majority leaves Macron holding all the cards Read more

In a country with a history of huge street protests that have forced many previous governments to water down their proposals, trade unions have warned they will resist changes to employment law that weaken workers’ rights.

A variety of factors including election fatigue (this was France’s fourth vote in three months), the near-certainty of La REM’s victory, disenchantment among core leftwing and conservative voters and even the warm weather were blamed for the low turnout.

France’s two-round system, which Macron has also promised to partially reform, means the high abstention rate will not affect the president and his government’s ability to push their reforms through parliament.

But Macron will need to win greater public support for his policies, particularly from sections of the electorate that have not so far backed his programme, including lower income households and blue collar workers.

