Overview

• Sébastien Lecornu met the centre-right 'socle commun' and the heads of the Assembly and Senate, floating a plan to agree, beyond the 2026 budget, on two or three major bills to hold the coalition together.
• He will receive unions and employers on Friday and Monday, after CFDT chief Marylise Léon urged him to 'think differently' from his predecessor with measures for fiscal and social fairness and tighter conditions on corporate aid.
• The Socialist Party said talks would be based on its proposals and refused to rule out supporting a censure motion, with figures on the left pressing for a levy on very large fortunes and warning against a repeat of the Bayrou budget approach.
• The Rassemblement National signaled it will hear Lecornu’s policy speech before deciding on censure, while La France insoumise vowed no compromise and attacked the PS for entertaining negotiations.
• Public pressure is mounting with 197,000 participants counted by the Interior Ministry in the 10 September 'Bloquons tout' actions and a poll showing roughly seven in ten French dissatisfied with Lecornu’s appointment.