What will happen to President Macron after his defeat in parliament?

According to AFP news agency, French President Emmanuel Macron's "Together!" coalition lost the race for a majority in the National Assembly, winning only 245 seats in the 577-member legislature, instead of the required 289 seats. Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Melenchon's left-wing NUPES coalition won 135 seats while the far-right National Rally (RN) party won 89 seats.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on June 19 that the results of the second round of parliamentary elections were a “risk” for France.

This outcome is considered an extremely rare scenario in the French political system. Although the parliamentary election does not theoretically affect France's foreign policy, domestic issues may affect President Macron's decisions when participating in solving foreign issues.

Here are some actions President Macron can take to ensure he retains power in decision-making.

Forming alliances

Immediately after being informed of the election results, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne pledged to form a coalition and this would begin as early as the morning of June 20.

As the nation grapples with a cost-of-living crisis, the ruling party is rushing through an emergency bill to support low-income families before the summer holidays in August.

That bill, along with other policies on President Macron's agenda — including welfare reform or raising the retirement age — will need the support of allies in Congress.

President Macron's "Together" alliance is seen as more likely to reach out to France's traditional right-wing party, the Republicans (LR), and its center-right ally UDI.

“We will quickly form a majority coalition,” said Olivier Veran, minister in charge of parliamentary relations.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called on other parties that share the same ideas as the ruling party to turn to support President Macron.

However, although some figures in the Republican Party are known to be willing to cooperate with President Macron, including former President Nicolas Sarkozy, Labor Party leader Christian Jacob has spoken out against accepting the invitation to form a coalition.

“We are running as an opposition party, we are in a confrontational position and we will always be,” he stressed. However, analysts assessed whether this was a negotiating tactic by the Republicans to win some ministerial positions and other concessions.

Negotiate one law at a time

In the absence of a formal coalition, the minority government will need to rely on support from opposition parties for each bill.

This will require lengthy negotiations before each bill is brought to a vote. Once again, Republicans will play a key role.

"You can govern with a minority of seats as long as the opposition parties do not join forces against you," Dominique Rousseau, a constitutional law expert at Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne University, told AFP.

Former Prime Minister Michel Rocard headed a minority government from 1988-1991 after the right-wing gained ground in the 1988 parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is scheduled to address parliament in the coming weeks and will face a confidence vote.

Re-election

As a last resort, if parliament remains deadlocked and unable to form a stable government, President Macron could dissolve parliament and call new elections.

However, victory is not certain for Mr Macron, especially as public anger over inflation grows and opposition parties gain ground.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper