Macron’s party wins parliamentary president role despite rebuke from voters

French lawmakers reelected Yaël Braun-Pivet as president of the National Assembly Thursday, overcoming a political deadlock after the hung parliament of July’s parliamentary elections.

Braun-Pivet, a lawmaker from French President Emmanuel Macron’s own centrist party, also served as the last assembly president. But her reelection was far from assured, after her party lost seats and political dominance earlier this month.

In France’s surprising parliamentary election runoff on July 7, a leftwing coalition surged to become the largest group in the 577-seat National Assembly, putting Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance in second place and the far-right National Rally rally RN and its allies behind them.

Nevertheless, Braun-Pivet on Thursday took the top parliamentary role with 220 votes from the 577-seat body in a third round of voting, after two previous rounds had failed to elect a lawmaker with an absolute majority.

With a position akin to Speaker of the House of Representatives, the assembly president plays an important role in setting legislative timetables and priorities, as well as overseeing the appointment of key commission posts.

On Tuesday, Macron accepted the resignation of his prime minister, Gabriel Attal, who will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is appointed.