Macron in scramble to secure coalition

France's recently reelected president, Emmanuel Macron, met political allies and foes on Tuesday in the hope of forming a coalition government after his centrist party's disappointing performance in parliamentary elections over the weekend weakened his grip on power.

With Macron's coalition falling 44 seats short of a parliamentary majority, it now seems unlikely that he will be able to put together a sufficiently robust government to steer through the radical reforms he promised during April's presidential election.

Macron held meetings with opposition members, including president of Les Republicains, Christian Jacob, head of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Other meetings were scheduled on Wednesday.

Macron was also to meet with representatives of his own party and allied movements.

Talks are aimed at finding "potential constructive solutions" to the situation, according to Macron's office.

Le Pen, who stood against Macron in the presidential election, said she and her National Rally coalition of far-right parties will not prop up Macron's government, Agence France-Presse reported. She said she will instead "implement the blocking of all harmful reforms".

And Jean-Luc Melenchon's left-wing and green grouping of parties also wants to keep its distance from Macron and his proposed reforms of the pension age, taxes and the welfare state.

Melenchon told AFP his coalition, which was formed specifically for the election, will remain together because it is a "rebellion (that) now has a face".

Lack of support

The lack of support for Macron's Ensemble alliance means the president could end up at the helm of a minority government as a result of Sunday's election, which saw 53 percent of eligible voters abstain.

The BBC reported that he will focus on trying to woo lawmakers from mainstream political parties and could end up securing arrangements on a bill-by-bill basis, as legislation edges through the National Assembly.

On his way out of Elysee Palace, Jacob said Les Republicains, which secured 61 seats, will remain an opposition force and will not enter into any "pact or coalition" with Macron's centrists. But he opened the door to voting in favor of some measures if they are in line with his party's platform.

However, many political parties have said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne must resign before they can consider propping the government up, even on a vote-by-vote basis.

The president's office confirmed on Tuesday that Borne had offered to resign in the immediate aftermath of the election, but Macron had rejected that offer.

Government members were scheduled to hold a meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the Prime Minister's office.

Macron is to travel to Brussels for a European summit scheduled on Thursday and Friday.

Agencies contributed to this story.