The French Presidency announced on Wednesday (October 8) that President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new Prime Minister within the next 48 hours (by Friday evening) to address the most serious political crisis in France in decades.
Meanwhile, acting Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu denied the possibility of dissolving the parliament and holding early elections. He stated that the majority of the members of parliament are against such a move.
Lecornu said, “There is an absolute majority in the National Assembly against dissolution.” He added, “210 parliamentarians hope to establish a stable platform.”
He believes that this majority can provide a basis for Macron to appoint a new Prime Minister.
Lecornu is the fifth French Prime Minister in two years. He submitted his and his government’s resignation hours after announcing the cabinet list, making it the shortest government term in modern French history.
Even though he has resigned, Lecornu, at Macron’s request, has held discussions with political leaders from the center-left and center-right in the past two days, attempting to resolve the crisis.
Quoting Lecornu’s conclusion, the Élysée Palace stated, “The majority of parliamentarians oppose dissolution of the parliament and wish for a stable platform, and there is still a viable path to pass the budget before December 31.”
“On this basis, the President will appoint a Prime Minister within the next 48 hours,” the statement said.
Following talks with various parties, Lecornu confirmed in an interview with France 2 that earlier in the day, he had met with the President and presented the latest round of negotiation outcomes.
In the interview, he ruled out the possibility of returning to the position of Prime Minister himself and called for the formation of a government “completely detached from aspirations for the 2027 presidential election.”
He emphasized that he is willing to accept the President’s request and meet with all parties to prove that he is not chasing the position of Prime Minister.
Regarding the calls for the President to step down, Lecornu stated that amidst global instability and the President’s heavy responsibilities in foreign affairs, “now is not the time to change the President.”
The primary challenge for the incoming Prime Minister is to pass the 2026 budget by December 31 to maintain fiscal stability. A new budget proposal will be submitted to the parliament next Monday, and Lecornu admitted, “It won’t be perfect, and there will be much debate required.”
Another major challenge is the controversial pension reform. Lecornu described it as still being a “source of blockage” in the parliament and must find a way to reopen discussions.
However, he also warned that suspending the reform would come at a high cost, and abandoning it would require at least an additional €3 billion in expenses for France by 2027.
Despite the upcoming appointment of a new Prime Minister, the anger and dissatisfaction of the opposition have not subsided.
Leader of the right-wing party National Rally, Marine Le Pen, refused to participate in Lecornu’s negotiations, explicitly stating that she will not join any agreement and called for an early parliamentary election.
Leader of the left-wing party France Unbowed, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, reiterated that the only way out of the crisis is for Macron to step down.
At the same time, the Chairman of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure and the Green Party leader Marine Tondelier expressed that the left-wing alliance hopes to take over the next government. The left-wing advocates imposing a 2% wealth tax on the wealthiest 0.01% in the 2026 budget and abolishing the unpopular pension reform.
In the market, political uncertainty has made investors uneasy. However, after Lecornu expressed cautious optimism about reaching an agreement on Wednesday morning, the Paris CAC 40 index rose by 1.1%. Nevertheless, the index remains one of Europe’s laggards in 2025.