France's 'dream' fades as Games give way to political deadlock

Michel Rose and Elizabeth Pineau, Reuters

The Paris Olympics delivered a dazzling summertime success that charmed the world and reaffirmed French national pride. But the hangover will be tough. With Sunday's closing ceremony over, President Emmanuel Macron must now deal with a self-created political crisis that he had swept under the carpet until the Games were over. Talks over government jobs and budget cuts loom, with voter anger sure to follow.

"Now we have to wake up from this beautiful dream," said Christine Frant, 64, at the Club France fan zone last weekend. "Such a shame we're going to return to our day-to-day routine, with no government, squabbles in parliament, while here it was all about joy, sharing."

In a political gamble, Macron called a snap legislative election just weeks before the Games were due to begin. Voters delivered a hung parliament. Choosing a prime minister who can appease Macron's centrist camp, a leftist alliance and the far-right National Rally has proven tricky. After days of political dealmaking that went nowhere after the July 7 vote, Macron declared a political truce for the duration of the Games, giving himself until around mid-August to name a prime minister and let political parties negotiate. The mysterious sabotage on railway and telecoms targets at the start of the Games seemed like an ominous portent, but after that, the event carried on with no further security scares. Macron decamped to his presidential retreat on the French Riviera, with a few incursions into Paris, including for a long hug with French judo titan Teddy Riner after he clinched his fourth career gold.

While many in France followed the tribulations of the Lebruns, two ping-pong-playing brothers, or cheered on star swimmer Leon Marchand, politicians have been plotting a way out of the crisis. Now, Macron will need to make a decision. But he seemed in no rush on Monday. In an interview with sports daily L'Equipe, he gave no hint of who or when he would name someone but said: "All those who did not believe in the Games were wrong".

"Often, when you switch the TV on or read a newspaper, there is talk of decline. The French have rediscovered they can do great things together," he said, adding he hoped to capitalise on that goodwill to bridge political divisions. It remains to be seen whether he can draw any political dividend, but his fiercest opponents, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon have at least had to mute their criticism during the Games.

So far, Macron has ignored the candidate agreed on by the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front, which came on top in the elections but has yet to make overtures to other parties to garner a majority. Despite efforts to bolster her profile, the chosen candidate Lucie Castets remains a political unknown. "Who is she?" said Zahera Dakkar, 41, after watching the volleyball final at Club France. "I haven't followed politics for two weeks. The Games were an escape from all that." Castets' hopes of the left taking Matignon, the prime minister's official residence, appear slim. Macron believes the vote delivered a National Assembly whose "centre of gravity is in the centre or the centre-right," a source close to him said. "We need a personality capable of talking to the centre, the right and the left. From the socially-minded right to the left that care about law-and-order," said the source, who declined to be named to discuss the president's thinking.

Xavier Bertrand, a former conservative minister under ex-President Jacques Chirac who has had tough words against Macron but has collaborated constructively with his government in his northern region fiefdom, could be compatible, the source said. Bernard Cazeneuve, a former prime minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande, who was in office at the time of the 2015 attacks in Paris, could also work, the source said. Both men's offices did not return a request for comment.

Whoever Macron names will face a tough job, with parliamentary approval of the 2025 budget top of the in-tray at a time when France is under pressure from the European Commission and bond markets to reduce its deficit. "If Macron tries to name a sort of rightist government, he will get no budget," said Eric Coquerel, the leftist head of the finance committee in parliament. Macron's entourage is keen to use the Games, organised by a centrist president, a Socialist mayor and a conservative regional leader, as an example of what France can do when different sides come together. His rivals want to make sure the president gets no credit, Senator Laure Darcos told Reuters.

Even if Macron's domestic fortunes remain bleak, the Games have bolstered his international standing. Michael Payne, a former IOC marketing chief, said the president is seen from abroad as "the leader who delivered," but he believed Macron had made a strategic mistake by calling the snap election before the Olympics rather than after. At Club France, where families stood in line to take selfies with the Olympic torch or snapped up fluffy red mascots, it was hard to find anyone who wanted to talk politics. "Please, no!" said Frant, a French flag around her neck.