Overview

• Prime Minister François Bayrou launched formal consultations on April 30, meeting with Rassemblement National (RN) leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella first, followed by Renaissance representatives on May 1.
• The consultations aim to explore proportional representation for legislative elections, with the government seeking to legislate before the parliamentary session ends or consider a referendum if consensus fails.
• Political parties remain divided: RN supports proportional representation with a majority bonus, MoDem backs full proportionality, Renaissance sees reform as low priority, and Les Républicains firmly oppose it, citing risks of political instability.
• Bayrou’s proposal revisits the proportional representation model used in the 1986 elections under Laurent Fabius, while other options, including mixed systems and regional lists, are also under discussion.
• The move is partly seen as an effort to address legislative gridlock in the hung Assembly since 2024 and to ease tensions with RN, which has threatened a censure motion against Bayrou’s government.