Macron loses majority in Parliament, own party MPs defect to form new party

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday lost his absolute majority after several lawmakers from his party defected to form a new political party.

Seven members from Macron’s Republique En Marche (LREM) have joined the Ecology, Democracy, Solidarity party that is made up 17 lawmakers for now.

The new group has said that they would be independent and would neither sit in the majority nor with the opposition.

With this, Macron’s party is 1 shy of majority (majority required is 289) in the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament.

In a political declaration posted online, the new group said that they will “be a demanding force, ready to build with the government and the majority whenever they listen to our proposals, as with all political benches, to build majorities of ideas to give progress ecological and social a chance to succeed.”

The ruling LREM party has maintained that the majority is not in danger and that they continue to have the working majority. The Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian too said that the majority is not in danger.

Leader of the far-left La France Insoumise Party described the new formation as “a comedy whose real objectives are not yet known”. He wrote in his blog blaming Macron for the chaos.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Rassemblement National party, has once called for the parliament to be dissolved.