French Government Resigns Ahead Of Olympics

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

PARIS (Worthy News) – French President Emmanuel Macron has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s government, ushering in a period of political instability ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris.

Attal’s cabinet will now serve “in a caretaker capacity” and “handle day-to-day business until a new government is named,” the Elysee Palace said Tuesday.

Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance was beaten by the New Popular Front (NFP), a broad coalition of leftist and environmental parties, in early elections earlier this month.

However, the outcome surprised the anti-migration National Rally, where champagne was on ice after polls suggested an election victory.

For days, Marine Le Pen had confidently predicted that her party would triumph with an outright majority and her protege Jordan Bardella would be prime minister.

Instead, the National Rally became third after tactical dealmaking between centrist and leftist opponents who pulled candidates to avoid splitting the anti-National Rally vote.

CLEANING UP IMAGE

Le Pen had sought to clean up her party’s image as extreme and far-right while still tapping the grievances of voters angry over immigration from mainly Islamic nations, living costs, and strained public services.

The vote left the National Assembly with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France’s modern republic history. A coalition government has yet to be formed between alliances or political parties.

Until a government is formed, Attal’s caretaker government will run current affairs in the eurozone’s second-largest economy. Officials said its role will also ensure that the Olympic Games, which start on July 26, run smoothly.

The caretaker government cannot submit new laws to parliament or make significant changes.

Attal, 34, was appointed as France’s prime minister in January. He rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and served as France’s education minister before becoming the prime minister.

As education minister, his first move was to ban the Muslim abaya dress in state schools last year, making him popular among conservatives in France.

‘BUILDING STRONG VALUES’

“The school of the Republic was built around strong values; secularism is one of them,” he stressed.

“When you enter a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the religion of pupils,” Attal said in an interview at the time.

“I announce that [pupils] will no longer be able to wear abaya at school,” Attal explained at the time

The abaya is a long, flowing dress commonly worn by Muslim women. It complies with Islamic beliefs on modest dress. However, experts say other communities in North Africa and the Middle East also wear it.

In 2004, France already banned religious symbols in schools, including large crosses, Jewish kippahs, and Islamic headscarves.

The focus on abayas followed a reported increase in girls wearing Islamic clothing in French schools, a trend that critics say undermines the country’s historic Christian traditions.

(With additional reporting and analysis from the Worthy News Europe Bureau)

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