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Efforts by President Emmanuel Macron's centrists and a rival left-wing bloc to revive a long-buried tradition of parliamentary compromise have resulted in immediate friction.
On the brink of civil war and with governments surviving less than two months, France in 1958 turned to General Charles de Gaulle to rewrite the constitution and rein in an unruly parliament.
More than six decades later, the rise of populist forces has reopened an old chapter in French history that de Gaulle's Fifth Republic was supposed to close: parliamentary chaos.
Snap elections last Sunday produced the most fragmented National Assembly in the country's post-war history, with no party or bloc holding enough seats to govern alone and the far-right emerging as the third largest faction.
Efforts by President Emmanuel Macron's centrists and a rival left-wing bloc to revive a long-buried tradition of parliamentary compromise have resulted in immediate friction.
At stake is the ability to find a stable government for the eurozone's second-largest economy. As Russia continues to wage its war in Ukraine, a France beset by government paralysis or instability could have far-reaching consequences for the EU and NATO.
Macron, who cannot call parliamentary elections again until June next year, has said he would give the newly elected assembly some time before using his constitutional prerogative to appoint a new prime minister. On Wednesday, he urged parties to "engage in honest and loyal dialogue to build a solid majority", excluding the far right and far left.
Deep divisions have resurfaced within the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire party, which came out on top with 193 seats in the 577-member parliament and was quick to claim the right to appoint a prime minister.
But after a week of talks, the NFP has still not agreed on a name for Prime Minister. Even if they reach consensus and Macron names his own candidate, others, including the conservative Les Républicains and Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National party, have already signaled they would call a no-confidence vote against any government that includes cabinet ministers. LFI.
Macron's Renaissance party could suffer defections: some of its more left-wing members said they wanted to form their own parliamentary group. Other centrist allies are pushing for a deal with conservatives, who have so far been reluctant to join after sharply criticizing the president during the campaign.
Unlike Germany or the Nordics, which have long practiced the delicate art of coalition building, France has lost its ability to compromise, said Marie-Anne Cohendet, a professor of constitutional law.
" In France it is more confrontational, pitting one block against another ," she said.
France's 1958 constitution ended political instability by strengthening executive power and favoring the emergence of a parliamentary majority serving a directly elected president. It gives the government many tools to bypass an uncooperative lower house.
Macron, whose party lost its majority for the first time in 2022, used the constitutional provision known as 49.3 to pass the legislation without a vote in parliament. This was the case in March last year for his overhaul of the pension system, which faced stiff opposition from MPs and widespread street protests.
France's shift from "a parliamentary republic to a presidential republic" is unique in Europe, said historian Nicolas Roussellier. De Gaulle and all those who lived through the trauma of the Vichy regime collaborating with the Nazi occupation were "obsessed with the ability to govern," he said.
However, France experienced a golden age of parliamentarism. Some of the country's most important laws, Roussellier said, were drafted by lawmakers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Now, after decades of relative stability, the decline of major parties and the rise of political extremes are testing the general's constitution.
" The political landscape has changed, moving from a traditional bipolarization with a one-party majority to fragmentation and a form of radicalization of political discourse ," said Anne Levade, a professor of constitutional law.
The French reflex, when faced with a political crisis, is to change the constitution, she said, noting that there have been more than 14 such changes.
" We have tried everything, including monarchy, a parliamentary system, a presidential system. . . But changing the constitution will not change the political reality" , she said.
France is also pessimistic about the stability of French institutions in the face of populism. The tragicomedy of this situation is that those who will have the courage to join the coalition will be called "traitors". Extremists will automatically benefit from this, without any political cost./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Financial Times"
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