What party is Macron? En Marche and Ensemble coalition meaning, what is Nupes - president suffers in elections

Emmanuel Macron has lost control of the French National Assembly less than two months after being re-elected president, following a strong performance by a left-wing alliance and the far right.

In an election that has left French politics fractured, his centrist coalition lost dozens of seats, and Macron’s political manoeuvring will be complicated by the situation, which is rare in France.

Elections were held nationwide to select the 577 members of the National Assembly, the most powerful branch of France’s parliament.

The strong performance of both the National Rally and the leftist coalition, led by leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, will make it difficult for Macron to carry out the agenda he was re-elected on in May, which includes tax cuts and lifting France’s retirement age from 62 to 65.

A new coalition between the hard left, the Socialists and the Greens could now form, complicating Macron’s political manoeuvring as the lower house of parliament is crucial for voting on new measures.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What political party is Emmanuel Macron in?

Emmanuel Macron’s political party is La République En Marche! (LREM), a party he founded himself in 2016.

With a name that translates to "The Republic on the Move" or "Republic Forward", LREM is pro-European party, which Macron considers to be a progressive movement, uniting both the left and the right.

LREM recognises globalisation and aspires to "modernise and moralise" French politics by integrating social and economic liberalism.

It also hopes to be a transpartisan organisation that transcends traditional political lines, and accepts new members from other parties at a higher rate than by other political parties in France.

How does his centrist coalition work?

Macron’s Ensemble coalition is still the largest grouping in parliament, but has suffered major losses in the latest round of votes.

The political coalition includes LREM, Democratic Movement (MoDem), Agir, Territories of Progress (TDP), Horizons, En commun, and the Progressive Federation.

François Bayrou, the leader of MoDem, first proposed forming a coalition of centrist and centre-right parties, and in November 2021, Richard Ferrand, President of the National Assembly, accepted his idea.

The coalition attempted to unite Emmanuel Macron’s presidential majority so that it could propose its unified candidates for the 2022 parliamentary election.

Ferrand stated their pledge to "a stable majority in the National Assembly" in May 2022, while Ensemble vice-president Édouard Philippe stated that its programme "is that of Macron."

Who are the NUPES?

The New Ecologic and Social People’s Union (NUPES) is a left-wing political coalition in France led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

It was formed on May Day 2022, it includes La France Insoumise (LFI), the Socialist Party (PS), the French Communist Party (PCF), Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), Ensemble! (E!), and Génération.s (G.s).

The purpose of the union is to deny Macron’s Ensemble a presidential majority in parliament and defeat the far right.

The participating parties agree on a number of proposals, including raising the after-tax minimum wage to €1,500 (£1,290) per month, returning to retirement at the age of 60, freezing the cost of essential goods, and environmental development.

The coalition hopes to gain a majority in the National Assembly in order to impose cohabitation on President Macron and select Jean-Luc Mélenchon as prime minister.

Cohabitation is a governmental system that occurs in semi-presidential systems like France when the president belongs to a different political party than the majority of parliament members.

What does it mean for Macron?

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the “unprecedented” situation “is a risk to our country faced with challenges at the national level as well as at the international scale”.

“As the central force in that new Assembly. we will work, as of tomorrow, to build an action-oriented majority,” she said.

“There’s no alternative but gathering to guarantee our country some stability and lead the necessary reforms,” she added.

Borne, who herself won a seat in western France, suggested Macron’s centrist alliance will seek to get support from lawmakers from diverse political forces to find “good compromises.”

Macron’s government will still have the ability to rule, but only by bargaining with legislators. The centrists could try to negotiate on a case by case basis with lawmakers from the centre-left and from the conservative party – with the goal of preventing opposition lawmakers from being numerous enough to reject the proposed measures.

The administration could potentially employ a specific provision in the French Constitution to pass legislation without a vote on occasion.

A similar situation arose in 1988 under Socialist President Francois Mitterrand, who had to rely on Communist or centrist support to enact legislation.

Some voters believe that the French system, which gives the president wide powers, should give the multi-faceted parliament more influence and operate with more checks on the presidential Elysee palace and its occupant.

“I’m not afraid to have a National Assembly that’s more split up among different parties. I’m hoping for a regime that’s more parliamentarian and less presidential, like you can have in other countries,” said Simon Nouis, an engineer voting in southern Paris.

Macron’s inability to gain a majority could have far-reaching consequences throughout Europe. Analysts expect that the French president will have to devote the remainder of his term to domestic issues rather than foreign policy.