France faces political turmoil as PM scrambles to save budget and restore stability
Photo: French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu (Getty Images)
France's interim Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has expressed cautious optimism about the country's budget being approved by the end of 2025, which significantly reduces the likelihood of early parliamentary elections, according to Reuters and The Guardian.
Interim French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu expressed cautious optimism about the adoption of the country's budget by the end of the year, which reduces the likelihood of early parliamentary elections.
According to him, negotiations with various parties are ongoing, and an agreement on the budget may be reached by December 31, 2025. Lecornu noted that the willingness to compromise creates momentum and rapprochement, which reduces the risk of parliament being dissolved.
He added that he would meet with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the results of the negotiations and determine the possibility of reaching an agreement.
In recent days, Macron has faced calls to call early elections or resign to overcome the political crisis.
Lecornu became France's fifth Prime Minister in two years and resigned along with the government on Monday after the new cabinet was rejected. The President persuaded him to remain in office until Wednesday evening to try to form a coalition government capable of passing an austerity budget due to record levels of public debt.
Lecornu also said that during the negotiations, he would check what concessions the Socialists and Greens were willing to make to support the budget agreement.
He expressed hope that the budget deficit would be reduced to 4.7-5% instead of the target of 5.4% in 2025.
Lecornu is expected to make a public statement on the status of the negotiations today before meeting with representatives of the Socialist Party.
Meanwhile, Macron stressed that he would take responsibility if no agreement was reached, hinting at possible early parliamentary elections.
Parliamentary crisis in France
On October 6, Sébastien Lecornu submitted his resignation as Prime Minister of France to Emmanuel Macron.
On September 8, the French National Assembly passed a vote of no confidence in the government headed by François Bayrou.
The decision was supported by 194 out of 364 deputies - all parties opposed to Emmanuel Macron, from the far left to the far right, voted for the government's resignation.
On September 9, President Macron appointed Sébastien Lecornu, who served as Defense Minister in the previous government, as the country's new Prime Minister. After the appointment, Macron instructed him to consult with parliamentary forces and present the composition of the new government.
For more details on why the previous French government was dismissed, see the article by RBC-Ukraine.
