The Guardian view on France ungoverned: a humbled president must learn humility | Editorial

Emmanuel Macron's refusal to accept a minority left government was a mistake. Having lost the election he needs to give ground

Though he made a number of appearances during theOlympics, Emmanuel Macron largely retreated to his holiday residence in southern France for the duration of the Games. From there, having called a political truce as Paris put on a triumphant sporting spectacle, the president hoped to plot a path out of the self-inflicted chaos created by his decision to call asnap election in the middle of the summer.

No such luck. The Olympic athletes are long departed, and the traditional September rentree looms. But no newgovernment is in place - the longest such hiatus since immediately following the second world war -and bitter acrimony reigns. This week, MrMacron used his presidential prerogative to rule out any candidate for prime minister put forward by the NewPopular Front (NFP), the leftwing alliance thatbya short head came first in the July poll.