Paris (EFE).- French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday summoned leaders of political parties and parliamentary groups — excluding those from the far right and far left — just hours before the deadline he set for himself to name a new prime minister.
Invitations were sent out early Thursday morning for a 2:30 p.m. meeting, according to several attendees who spoke with French media. Public broadcaster France Info reported that the invitation did not specify the topics to be discussed.
It was unclear whether the meeting would take place before or after Macron names a prime minister.
The Élysée Palace had said Wednesday that Macron would give himself 48 hours to appoint a new head of government after Sébastien Lecornu, the acting prime minister, resigned Monday morning—just 14 hours after his cabinet was announced—amid internal divisions.
Macron asked Lecornu to stay on temporarily and consult with party leaders to assess whether a new government could be formed under the current parliamentary balance. Lecornu concluded Wednesday that it might be possible to form a government capable of presenting a 2026 budget without calling early elections.
Following that assessment, the Élysée confirmed that Macron would name a prime minister within 48 hours.
Thursday’s meeting does not include Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) or Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed (LFI.) Le Pen’s party said it would vote to censure any prime minister appointed by Macron and is demanding snap legislative elections, while Mélenchon’s movement has blamed the president for the political crisis and has called for his resignation.
Names circulating for the post include Jean-Louis Borloo, a former conservative minister; Bernard Cazeneuve, a former Socialist prime minister; and Lecornu himself.
The first major task of the new prime minister will be to present a 2026 draft budget within the coming days so it can be adopted on schedule—if a parliamentary majority can be secured.
The budget issue looms large amid mounting fiscal and political uncertainty. France’s deficit reached 5.8 percent of GDP in 2024, and its public debt stood at 115.6 percent of GDP by the end of the second quarter, prompting a worrying rise in the country’s risk premium, which in recent days has been among the worst in the eurozone. EFE
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