Overview

• In a Matignon address, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he will not use article 49.3 to force legislation, including the budget, and pledged a cabinet that shares power with Parliament.
• He set fiscal red lines by rejecting a Zucman-style levy on large fortunes, the return of the ISF wealth tax, and any suspension of the pensions reform, while floating tax relief on overtime, elements of the ‘prime Macron,’ and measures for women’s pensions.
• Lecornu met Marine Le Pen before receiving Socialist leader Olivier Faure, as the PS calls his proposals far below expectations but signals it will still “give a chance,” whereas LFI readies censure and the RN withholds judgment until his policy speech.
• LR leader Bruno Retailleau warned that right‑wing participation in the incoming government is not assured, keeping Lecornu’s coalition math and cabinet formation in doubt.
• Assembly leverage has shifted after RN support helped the governing bloc secure nearly all committee presidencies, with LFI’s Eric Coquerel retaining Finance and LR’s Philippe Juvin named budget rapporteur‑general.