Macron will nominate a new French prime minister within 48 hours

French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours, the Elysee Palace said, ruling out speculation that new elections might be imminent.

Earlier on Wednesday, outgoing Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu said the possibility of dissolving parliament was fading after talks with political parties over the past two days.

He said: “There is a majority in Parliament, and it is the majority that is keen to avoid holding new elections.”

Lecornu, a close ally of Macron, on Monday became the third French prime minister to leave office in less than a year, after he was expelled by a hung parliament deeply divided along ideological lines.

Macron then asked him to stay for two days in order to form a consensus between the parties on how to get out of the current political crisis.

In a long-awaited television interview on Wednesday evening, Lecornu gave no indication as to who the next prime minister might be, and although he said his job was “done,” he did not appear to be completely ruling himself out.

He said that in addition to not wanting to hold new elections, most representatives also recognized the urgent need to pass the budget by the end of the year.

However, he acknowledged that the path towards forming a government is still complicated due to divisions within Parliament and politicians’ aspirations to the upcoming presidential elections.

Lecornu, the former armed forces minister, said anyone who ends up in government “will need to completely break away from any presidential ambition for 2027.”

The political stalemate in France began after snap elections in July 2024. Since then no party has gained a majority, making it difficult to pass any laws or reforms including the annual budget.

The big challenge facing Lecornu and his predecessors is how to address France’s crippling national debt, which this year reached €3.4 trillion (£2.9 trillion), or nearly 114% of economic output (gross domestic product), the third highest in the eurozone after Greece and Italy.

Former prime ministers Michel Barnier and François Bayrou were ousted in a vote of confidence after they presented austerity budgets.

LeCorneau said his draft budget will be presented next week, although it will be “open for discussion.”

He added, “But the discussion must begin… Parties cannot say that they will vote against it without studying it.”

Likewise, one big issue that has plagued French politics since 2023 will need to be reconsidered, Lecornu said: Macron’s highly controversial pension reforms. “We have to find a way to have the debate,” LeCorno said.

But some factions in Parliament seem unable to move from their positions.

Mathilde Panot of the radical left party “France Uneasy” (LFI) said shortly after the television interview with Lecornu that the only solution was “the resignation and departure of Emmanuel Macron.”

Meanwhile, far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, who has long called for new elections, announced on Wednesday that she would vote against any new government.

It is unclear at this stage what political forces will support the new government.

The so-called common platform of centrists and Republicans, which has run the government since last year, appears to have collapsed.

The big question now is whether in the past 48 hours Lecornu has managed to convince the Socialists, who were part of the left bloc during the election, to somehow support the government.

In response to a question about some political factions’ calls for Macron’s resignation, with former Macron Prime Minister Edouard Philippe even raising the idea earlier this week, Lecornu said France needs a stable and internationally recognized figure at its helm.

“This is not the time to change the president,” LeCorneau said.

However, Macron appears increasingly isolated, and even close allies have begun to distance themselves from him.

Earlier this week, Gabriel Attal, widely seen as Macron’s protégé, said he “no longer understands” Macron and called for the appointment of an independent negotiator to guide the government.

Macron has yet to speak publicly since Lecornu’s surprise resignation on Monday morning. Lecornu promised that the president “will address the French people at the appropriate time,” without specifying when that might be.