By PARIS, Oct 8 (AfrikTimes) — French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours, his office said on Wednesday, amid mounting political turmoil and resistance from lawmakers to a snap parliamentary election during what has been described as France’s worst crisis in decades.
Sebastien Lecornu, France’s fifth prime minister in two years, tendered his and his government’s resignation on Monday, just hours after announcing his cabinet line-up, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern French history. But at Macron’s request, Lecornu has held further consultations with political leaders spanning the centre left to centre right in an effort to defuse the crisis.
“A majority of deputies oppose dissolution (of parliament); a platform for stability exists; a path is possible to adopt a budget by December 31,” the Elysee presidential office said, citing Lecornu’s conclusions. “On this basis, the President of the Republic will appoint a Prime Minister within the next 48 hours.”
French outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu delivers a statement in the courtyard at the Hotel Matignon in Paris after launching a series of talks with political parties’ leaders as France faces a political crisis following the announcement of the resignation of the new government, France, October 8, 2025.
NO DEAL BUT SOME HOPE
Lecornu resigned after the opposition, but also some allies, threatened to vote him out, in a sign of the deep instability hitting France, where no group or party holds a majority in parliament, and parties struggle to reach compromises on major issues including fixing the country’s ailing finances. He ended two days of talks with political leaders without a deal to end the crisis, but said he saw a path for a new premier to be appointed soon.
He did not say who the next prime minister could be, making it clear that his job was done and that the decision was now up to Macron. The Élysée statement also did not specify who could get the job.
DEAL IS POSSIBLE BUT WON’T BE EASY, CARETAKER PM SAYS
“I feel a path is still possible,” Lecornu said, referring to efforts to reach a deal on France’s 2026 budget and restore financial stability to the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
Speaking after briefing Macron on his talks, Lecornu told France 2 TV that striking a deal would be difficult but that, nevertheless, the prospects of Macron being forced to call a snap parliamentary election to break the deadlock were receding.
“I told the President of the Republic … that I believe the situation allows for him to appoint a prime minister in the next 48 hours,” Lecornu said.
Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, talks to journalists next to French Senator Patrick Kanner and Johanna Rolland, Mayor of Nantes and French Socialist Party’s First National Secretary Delegate, as they leave after a meeting with French outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu as part of consultations with French political parties, at the Hotel Matignon in Paris as France faces a political crisis following the announcement of the resignation of the new government, France, October 8, 2025.
MACRON FACES CALLS TO RESIGN
Macron has this week faced multiple calls to hold a snap parliamentary elections or resign, in particular from far-right and hard-left politicians but also from some in the political mainstream. Immediate reaction from some of the opposition showed the latest developments had done little to soothe their anger.
Laure Lavalette, a lawmaker from the far-right National Rally (RN), said Macron was just trying to “buy time”. Earlier in the day, RN leader Marine Le Pen, who refused to take part in this round of talks with Lecornu, had made clear she would not be part of any deal.
“I’ll censure everything. Enough now — the joke has gone on long enough,” she told reporters, reiterating her demand for snap parliamentary elections.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, of the hard-left France Unbowed, reiterated his party’s view that the only way out of the crisis would be for Macron to resign.
French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally – RN) party parliamentary group, arrives at the RN party headquarters in Paris as France faces a political crisis the day after the announcement of the resignation of the new government, France, October 7, 2025.
CENTRE-LEFT WANTS TO RUN THE NEXT GOVERNMENT
After meeting with Lecornu, but before his TV interview, Socialist Party chief Olivier Faure and Greens leader Marine Tondelier said the left wanted to run the next government. The left want a 2% wealth tax on France’s richest 0.01% in the 2026 budget, and want to scrap Macron’s unpopular pension reforms, measures that have strong public support but face stiff opposition from conservatives.
Markets have taken fright at the political paralysis in France, with investors already jittery over the country’s yawning budget deficit.
However, French assets saw some improvement on Wednesday after Lecornu expressed cautious optimism over the possibility of a deal in the morning, with Paris’ CAC 40 index (.FCHI) up 1.1% on the day. Despite the uptick, the French benchmark remains one of Europe’s weakest performers in 2025.
Marine Tondelier, National Secretary of Les Ecologistes (the Ecologists – EELV – French Green Party) party, talks to journalists after a meeting with French outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu as part of consultations with French political parties, at the Hotel Matignon in Paris as France faces a political crisis following the announcement of the resignation of the new government, France, October 8, 2025.
