PARIS, June 26, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday
"confirmed" his confidence in Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne in an interview
with AFP, after the premier came under fire for a wooden performance in an
election that saw her boss fail to retain an overall majority in parliament.

Macron said he had instructed Borne to conduct new consultations with
parliamentary groups to form a "government of action" for early July.

"I decided today to confirm my confidence in Elisabeth Borne," Macron said.

Macron, who spoke to Borne on Saturday, announced that he had instructed her
next week to sound out the political groups in the National Assembly on a
number of issues.

They included their possible participation in a government, their position on
a vote of confidence in Borne herself on July 5, and also on the vote on the
state budget next autumn.

"On my return from the G7 and NATO, the prime minister will submit to me
proposals for a roadmap for the government of France over the coming months
and years, and also for the composition of a new government of action at the
service of France that we will put in place in the first days of July," he
added.

"I have confidence in our collective ability to get there. I have confidence
in the ability of the Prime Minister...," he said.

France is facing a prolonged political deadlock after opposition parties gave
a frosty reception to Macron's call for "compromises" to keep France
governable after an indecisive parliamentary election.

Macron made his plea in an address to the nation late Wednesday days after
failing to retain his bloc's overall majority in parliament, a setback that
threatens to cripple his ability to carry out his planned reforms.

His centrist alliance finished Sunday's parliamentary elections 44 seats
short of an overall majority in the National Assembly, as a new left-wing
coalition and the far right made major gains.

The situation undermines Macron's plans for reform in his second term after
his April presidential re-election -- including a key measure to raise the
retirement age -- and risks denting his international stature.