Emmanuel Macron’s government is off to a floppy start

IT SHOULD have been a triumphant moment. Together with its allies, La République en Marche! (LRM), the movement of President Emmanuel Macron, won 350 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly in the election on June 18th. Even on its own, LRM won 308 seats, a clear majority. That is a remarkable outcome for a political outfit launched only last year. Even a couple of months ago few, other than the supremely confident Mr Macron, dared suggest it was possible.

Yet he had little chance to savour the moment or prepare for the legislative session that begins on June 27th. His government faced days of awkward scrutiny as four ministers quit. On June 19th Richard Ferrand, an LRM minister close to Mr Macron who has been caught up in a financial scandal, stepped down. (He will become the party’s leader in parliament.) Over the following days three ministers from MoDem, a centrist ally, also resigned. Investigators are looking into whether they misused European parliamentary funds.