Overview

• Sixteen days after his appointment, Sébastien Lecornu has yet to name a cabinet, tying last year’s 16‑day wait and likely surpassing it.
• He is conducting broad consultations with parties, unions and employers under an Élysée directive to secure the agreements needed for the 2026 budget.
• The 2026 finance bill must be presented by Oct. 7 under the National Assembly’s timetable, and Lecornu says he will outline budget orientations to unions in the coming days and to Parliament on schedule.
• Negotiations target a non‑censure understanding with the Socialist Party, which for now signals it would try to topple the government.
• Matignon is studying a new contribution from the very wealthy in place of a Zucman tax, as unions prepare a national mobilization on Oct. 2 and opponents decry long meetings with few concrete results.