On Monday, which happened to be Mélenchon’s birthday, Greens leader Marine Tondelier dismissed the impeachment call and warned against the risk that the left-wing “polyphony should not become a cacophony.”
While Socialist leader Olivier Faure also distanced himself from Mélenchon’s impeachment call, some within his party are increasingly warning against the extreme positions of the France Unbowed movement.
The squabble over the impeachment proposal has re-ignited internal bickering after the three parties managed to find some unity as they rallied behind Castets as common candidate for prime minister. The three parties were set to go together as a joint political force to consultations that Macron will hold at the Elysée Palace on Friday to form a new government.
But that unity is now in danger. “If the Unbowed don’t abandon this idea, we can’t go to the Elysée together to see a president whose impeachment they are calling for,” said Hélène Geoffroy, which heads a minority group within the Socialists.
In the meantime, Macron’s allies are rubbing their hands, hoping to capitalize on divisions among their left-wing opponents.
“It doesn’t strengthen them” going into Friday’s Elysée meeting, said a person close to the French president who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “When you disagree on something as essential as the Constitution, how can you imagine governing together?”
In the past, Macron has implicitly dismissed the possibility that Castets could become prime minister and instead called for a broader alliance including his own camp.
French politics was put on hold during the Paris Olympics: the country still doesn’t have a government more than one month after outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his ministers resigned. They remain as a caretaker administration. An outgoing minister predicted that the new government could be appointed after the Paralympic Games, which are taking place in Paris until Sept. 8.