Macron will unveil gov't after Games

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will delay appointing a new government until after the conclusion of the Paris Olympic Games.

Macron made the announcement in a television interview soon after the New Popular Front, or NFP, left-leaning alliance proposed Lucie Castets, a relatively unknown civil servant, as a potential prime minister.

In a significant shift in French politics, the left-wing coalition now holds the largest bloc in the National Assembly after recent elections.

Macron dissolved parliament and called snap elections last month. The second round of voting, held on July 7, produced a legislature with no clear majority.

With at least 182 of 577 seats, the left alliance is now positioned as the frontrunner to propose a prime ministerial candidate.

In response to the suggestion of Castets, Macron stated that appointing someone to the position before mid-August would "create disorder", reported the Agence France-Presse.

Critics from the left later accused him of attempting to "cancel the result of the legislative elections".

The Olympic Games are set to begin with an opening event in the city center of Paris on Friday and conclude on Aug 11.

Following significant defeats for his centrist party in the parliamentary elections, Macron accepted Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's resignation.

Attal and his ministers agreed to stay on in a caretaker capacity until their replacements were appointed. This interim government is tasked with handling day-to-day operations but is not empowered to pass new legislation.

In the French political structure, it is customary for the president to select a prime minister who can secure majority support in the National Assembly.

Castets, 37, holds the position of director of finance and purchasing at the Paris city hall. However, she lacks any experience in party politics, noted Reuters news agency.

When questioned about Castets, a figure unfamiliar to the general public, Macron told broadcaster France 2: "The issue is: Which majority can emerge at the (National) Assembly?"

"Until mid-August, we're in no position to change things, because it would create disorder," he said.

Hosting the Olympics presents France with significant logistical and security challenges, involving 35 different venues and an anticipated 10,500 competing athletes.

"Of course, we need to concentrate on the Games until mid-August," Macron added. "From then... it will be my responsibility to name a prime minister and entrust them with the task of forming a government, with the broadest backing possible," he said.

The coalition, comprising four parties — the far-left France Unbowed, the Socialist Party, the Green Party, and the Communist Party — has been engaged in weekslong debates over their choice for prime minister.