French leftist alliance selects Lucie Castets as candidate for new prime minister
PARIS (AP) — France’s leftist New Popular Front, which won the most seats in high-stakes legislative elections earlier this month, said Tuesday it has selected Lucie Castets, a civil servant unknown to the public, as their candidate to be the new French prime minister.
The announcement came shortly before President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to appear in a nationally broadcast televised interview Tuesday evening, in hopes of ending weeks of political deadlock.
Castets, a senior civil servant, graduated from Sciences Po, the London School of Economics, and the École Nationale d’Administration. She has worked at the General Directorate of the Treasury and Tracfin, the anti-money laundering unit of Bercy.
The New Popular Front described her as “a leader of associative struggles for the defense and promotion of public services, actively engaged in the fight of ideas against retirement at 64 (years old).” They also highlighted her efforts in combating tax fraud and financial crime.
Macron, who has a presidential mandate until 2027, has the ultimate say in who is to be appointed as prime minister. However, the prime minister would need the support of a majority of lawmakers to avoid a no-confidence vote.
Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Green Party, urged President Macron on X to “recognize the result of the elections and appoint her” to Matignon, shorthand for the residence of the prime minister.
Sébastien Chenu, a member of the far-right National Rally, criticized the selection of Castets, calling it “a joke in bad taste.”
France has been on the brink of government paralysis since elections for the National Assembly earlier this month resulted in a split among three major political groupings: the New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist allies and the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen.