THE biggest French union federation has called for mass demonstrations and possible strikes to push President Emmanuel Macron into “respecting the results” of Sunday’s legislative elections by allowing the New Popular Front (NPF) to form a government.

Mr Macron has refused to appoint a prime minister from the left-wing coalition and instead infuriated many across the country by calling on the political parties to construct a “republican” majority in the National Assembly.

Although no party won a majority on Sunday, the NPF alliance, which includes Jean-Luc Melenchon’s France Unbowed, the communists, the Socialist Party, the greens and various other groups, came out on top in the election, with 193 of the National Assembly’s 577 seats.

Renaissance, the president’s business-orientated coalition, took second place with 164 seats, while Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally came third with 143.

The new legislature’s inaugural session is scheduled for July 18.

On Thursday, General Confederation of Labour (CGT) general secretary Sophie Binet said in an interview with French broadcaster LCI that if Mr Macron does not respect the election results, “he risks once again plunging the country into chaos.”

Ms Binet said the president should allow the NPF to form the new government, although the alliance has not yet proposed a prime ministerial candidate. 

She called on union members to take to the streets and “join rallies to put the National Assembly under surveillance.”

Asked about strikes that could disrupt the Olympics, which France is hosting from July 26 to August 11, Ms Binet said: “At this stage, we don't plan a strike during the Olympic Games.” 

However, Ms Binet added that the CGT did not rule out strikes during the Games if Mr Macron continued to ignore the result of the election.

The president has asked Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to continue handling day-to-day affairs, despite Mr Attal offering to resign. 

Railway workers in the CGT have called for nationwide rallies on July 18 in front of prefectures and near the National Assembly in Paris to demand that the NPF be allowed to form a government, according to a statement by the union.

The leader of the centre-left CFDT union, Marylise Leon, warned that her union would not rule out strikes during the Olympics “in certain sectors if social dialogue breaks down,” including in private security and at the Paris airports. 

However, she added that “the goal of CFDT is not to block the Olympics.”