French President Macron accepts PM Attal's formal resignation

Paris [France]: French President Emmanuel Macron has formally accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. According to a press release from the Elysee Palace, the French presidential office, Macron has asked Attal to continue running the caretaker government until the appointment of the next government.

Olympic Countdown
The development comes ahead of the Olympics that is due to start in France from next week.

Parliamentary Election Results
In the recent parliamentary elections in France, the left-wing coalition New Popular Front (NFP) emerged as the largest bloc, but the infighting among the member parties meant that they failed to build consensus and put forward the name of their prime ministerial candidate.

Lack of Consensus
The NFP, a cluster of several parties including from the far-left France Unbowed party to the more moderate Socialists and the Ecologists -- won 182 seats in the National Assembly, making it the largest group but well short of the 289 required for an absolute majority.

Macron's Statement
In a July 16 press release from the Elysee Palace, Macron said, "In order for this period to end as quickly as possible, it is up to the republican forces to work together to build a rally around projects and actions in the service of French women and men."

National Assembly President Election
Meanwhile, French lawmakers are set to meet on Thursday to elect the president of the National Assembly, in two votes requiring a majority of the 577-seat body, CNN reported. If the first two votes don't elect someone, the candidate with the largest support in parliament will be selected in a third vote.

(With ANI Inputs)