As the war of words escalates between the leaders of the two rival factions in France, it seems that the political cohabitation between these parties is now being seriously threatened.

In reaction to the bitter war of words between the leftists and the right-wingers, the Secretary General of the rightist Rally for the Republic Party (RPR), Charles Pasqua, on July 17 spoke of the likelihood of the dissolution of Parliament and the sacking of the Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin if the differences persisted.

The RPR secretary general stressed that if President Jacques Chirac is not able to work with the prime minister, he should dissolve the Parliament and dismiss Jospin from office.

Analysts believe that what Pasqua, a candidate for 2002 presidential elections, said was aimed at creating concern in the rival faction, which has frequently summoned him to court to answer graft charges. Therefore, by encouraging Chirac to dissolve the Parliament and hold early elections, he intends to deal a heavy blow to the leftist faction, which seems to have the upper hand in its legal war against the right-wingers.

Some political observers argue that by strongly criticizing the performance of the government, Chirac is preparing the ground for sacking the prime minister. They maintain that the rightist faction leaders, by threatening to dissolve the Parliament, aim to stop the legal war waged by the left-wing faction.

Considering that Pasqua is going to compete with Chirac in the 2002 presidential elections, it seems that by raising the likelihood of the dissolution of Parliament and dismissal of Jospin, he aims to achieve two objectives. First, he intends to draw hostile political reactions from Jospin which might undermine the position of Chirac in the next year's elections. And second, he hopes that such threats will prompt the left-wingers to end their legal war against the leaders of the rightist faction.