FRANCE: Macron To Resume Talks For New PM Week Starting 19 Aug

Following the conclusion of the Olympic Games - which marked a brief period of unity across the political spectrum - France's partisan discussions on forming a new gov't are set to resume in earnest the week beginning 19 August. The deeply divided nature of the National Assembly, combined with the apparent unwillingness of the main three blocs - the leftist New Popular Front (NFP), the centrist Ensemble, and the right-wing nationalist Rassemblement National (National Rally, RN) - to make any concessions towards forming a gov't has resulted in paralysis that shows little sign of ending. 

• Earlier in the week, caretaker PM Gabriel Attal sent a letter to several parliamentary parties calling for an 'action pact' that would allow for legislative compromises between participating parties. Some from the NFP have already dismissed the letter's aims, claiming that they do not reflect the political reality.
• The NFP maintains that as the largest bloc in parl't, its candidate - Lucie Castets - should be appointed by President Emmanuel Macron. However, he has already rejected this prospect arguing she would not command a majority in the legislature. The other prominent options at present, former PM Bernard Cazeneuve and Hauts-de-France regional president Xavier Bertrand, also face difficulty in winning requisite support. 
• Without moderate centre-left parties stripping off from the NFP to join Ensemble and the centre-right Les Republicains, or Macron allowing for a minority leftist NFP gov't, it remains difficult to see how a gov't can be formed. A cordon sanitaire remains in place around the RN, denying their prospect of joining a gov't.