French President Emmanuel Macron pressed on with efforts Wednesday to end the crisis created by his failure to retain a parliamentary majority but with no solution in sight to an impasse that jeopardises his reform plans.
Mr. Macron's centrist alliance finished Sunday's parliamentary elections 44 seats short of a majority in the National Assembly, as a new left-wing coalition and the far-right made major gains.
The situation has called into question Mr. Macron's plans for reform in his second term after his April presidential re-election — including a key measure to reduce the retirement age — and risks denting his international stature.
On Tuesday, Mr. Macron hosted rare talks at the Elysee Palace with opposition leaders, including the head of the far-right National Rally (RN) Marine Le Pen, to find a way out of the crisis.
He will meet other leaders on Wednesday, though the head of the left-wing NUPES alliance, hard-leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon is sending MP Adrien Quatennens, 32, to represent him in a clear snub to the president.
The meetings so far appear to have made little headway, and Mr. Macron has also rejected an offer from under-fire PM Elisabeth Borne to resign.
"The unfindable compromise? Emmanuel Macron is trying to regain the initiative but no consensus has been found," said the right-wing Le Figaro daily.
