French President Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister within the next 48 hours, his office has said, in the latest effort to chart a path out of the worst political crisis of his presidency.
The announcement on Wednesday followed two days of last-ditch talks with party leaders by outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu in a bid to break the country’s political deadlock, after his cabinet lineup, unveiled on Sunday, was rejected by allies and rivals alike.
The Elysee presidential office said in a statement that Lecornu’s discussions with various parties had concluded that a majority of lawmakers were not in favour of parliament being dissolved for early elections, and that there was “a platform for stability” that could make it possible for a budget to be passed by the year’s end.
“On this basis, the President of the Republic will appoint a Prime Minister within the next 48 hours,” said the statement.
Macron thanked Lecornu for his work since Monday to resolve the crisis, the office said.
Ahead of the announcement, it had been unclear whether Macron would opt to reappoint Lecornu or name a replacement, call snap elections or even resign himself.
Escalating crisis
In September, Macron tasked Lecornu – the fifth prime minister he has installed in less than two years – with forming a government after the divided French parliament toppled his predecessor, Francois Bayrou, over a much-maligned austerity budget intended to tackle a debt crisis.
But despite Lecornu’s promises of a departure from Bayrou’s approach, his cabinet, unveiled on Sunday evening, immediately drew fierce criticism from both the right and left for containing many of the same faces from the previous administration.
Lecornu resigned the following day, making his 14-hour administration the shortest in modern French history, but then added to the confusion when he announced he would hold 48 hours of talks at Macron’s request to try to agree on a new cabinet.
The move prompted renewed criticism of the increasingly isolated Macron, including from former premier Edouard Philippe, once a close ally of the president, who was one of many calling for presidential elections to resolve the crisis.
‘I tried everything’
Speaking to French TV earlier Wednesday, Lecornu said he had told Macron that the prospects of snap elections had diminished as there was a majority in the lower house opposed to the dissolution of parliament.
“I tried everything,” he said of his efforts to find a deal to end the crisis. “This evening, my mission is finished.”
He suggested that a more technocratic and less political administration could follow, saying that any new cabinet appointments should not harbour ambitions to stand in the next presidential elections.
He also pushed back against calls for snap presidential polls ahead of the scheduled 2027 elections, saying it was “not the time to change the president”.
“Let’s not make the French believe that it’s the president who votes the budget,” he said.
The French parliament has been sharply divided since Macron, in response to surging gains by the far right, announced snap elections last year, resulting in a hung parliament.
With no governing majority, the parliament has been unable to approve a crucial budget to tackle France’s growing debt crisis. Meanwhile, proposed spending cuts have prompted nationwide protests, while opposition parties – who are calling for early elections and are pledging to block any new cabinet – have seized momentum.
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