Macron wins shock vote to keep coalition hopes alive

Braun-Pivet’s win “makes it likely that Macron will be able to appoint a prime minister from his camp,” Matthieu Hocque, a political analyst at the Millénaire public policy think tank in Paris, said. “In France’s modern history, the president of the National Assembly has always been in the same camp as the prime minister, it would be historical if it were not to be the case.”

Thursday’s dramatic vote came just 11 days after the New Popular Front (NFP), a broad alliance of left-wing parties, secured a surprise victory in this summer’s snap election, winning the most seats but falling far short of an outright majority.

The inconclusive result of the election pushed French politics into turmoil, threatening the EU’s second-biggest economy with months or even years of political paralysis.

But Thursday night’s vote in the National Assembly indicates that a narrow path through the deadlock may be in sight.

The dramatic vote came just 11 days after the NFP secured a surprise victory. | Teresa Suarez/Getty Images

The contest came down to the wire. After the center right withdrew its own candidate following the first round of the three-round vote, Braun-Pivet and her opponent from the left, Communist lawmaker André Chassaigne, found themselves separated by just eight votes. Braun-Pivet ended up winning thanks to the support of just a few unaffiliated lawmakers.

Despite their success through unity, Macron’s camp and the conservatives may not continue their partnership.