Pressure increased on Monday on President Emmanuel Macron to nominate a prime minister, as schools re-opened after the summer holidays yet a caretaker government continued to administer the country's affairs due to political bickering.
There was hope an announcement would be made after former Socialist Party prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve appeared to be a favourite, but no information was shared after he met Mr Macron for more than an hour.
The President is also scheduled to hold meetings with another favourite, former right-wing labour minister Xavier Bertrand, as well as Mr Macron's predecessors Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Reporters standing outside the Elysee Palace were left wondering if Mr Cazeneuve's name would be set aside as the Elysee started to circulate the yet-unheard possibility of Thierry Beaudet, a civil society figure unknown to the public.
A new round of consultations has been announced for later in the afternoon.
"Maybe this is just another communication operation by Macron, who will then say that no agreement could be found," reported BFMTV.
Mr Macron has been described by Le Monde as "playing with the nerves" of Mr Cazeneuve, whose entourage told the press that he was "available to serve the country".
France has never known a longer time period without a permanent government since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958. Gabriel Attal resigned as prime minister on July 16 following a heavy defeat of the president's camp in a snap election. "Our country is going through an unprecedented political situation," Mr Attal said on Monday.
A left-wing coalition, which came first in the election, suggested on July 23 the name of Lucie Castets, who heads the finance department of the city of Paris. She was rejected by Mr Macron who said a left-wing government would be a "threat to institutional stability".
A cabinet led by Ms Castets is expected to be immediately toppled by the centre, the right and the far-right, who said they were against the left-wing coalition's electoral programme which included increasing the minimum monthly wage to €1600 ($1771) a month.
For the first time, there are three roughly equal forces – the left, the centre and the far-right – in Parliament, forcing politicians into uneasy coalition talks in a country with no history of coalitions.
The left-wing coalition has rejected the name of Mr Cazeneuve. He left the Socialist Party in 2022 and is sharply critical of far-left political party France Unbowed, which has the biggest number of MPs within the coalition.
"We will censor any form of continuity with Macronism," said Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure on Monday.
France Unbowed politicians have accused Mr Macron of wanting to impose his own agenda. "He wants a coalition with himself," said European Parliament member Manon Aubry on Monday.
Supporters of Mr Macron have rejected such accusations and say that he views himself as an arbitrator keen on finding the right candidate who would ensure stability, but also not destroy key policies that were implemented during his mandate – including a controversial pension reform.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m, Winner: Zalman, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hisham Al Khalediah II, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Qader, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
8pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nayslayer, Bernardo Pinheiro, Jaber Ramadhan
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
