Macron to hold talks with French opposition parties over parliament deadlock: Elysee

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron will this week hold talks with representatives of France’s main political parties to find a way forward after his coalition failed to win a majority in parliamentary elections, the presidency said Monday.
The aim of the talks Tuesday and Wednesday at the Elysee Palace will be to “build solutions to serve the French” at a time when there is no “alternative majority” to that of Macron’s ruling alliance, said a presidential official who asked not to be named.
The official said representatives of the parties represented in parliament would be received at the Elysee separately and successively but without specifying which figures would attend.
But this appears to indicate the invitations have been extended to the parties of hard left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right chief Marine Le Pen who both made big gains in the polls.
“As guarantor of the institutions, the president of the Republic is determined to act in the interest of the French,” said the official. Macron has yet to publicly comment on the outcome of the elections.
Analysts say that Macron may be eyeing a deal with the traditional right-wing party The Republicans (LR). It confirmed that its leader Christian Jacob had accepted the invitation to attend. There was no immediate comment from the other parties.