Overview

• After resigning, Sébastien Lecornu was asked by President Emmanuel Macron to conduct final negotiations over 48 hours to try to secure a workable governing arrangement.
• Lecornu ruled out dissolving the National Assembly and opened consultations with centrists, conservatives and parties on the left, including scheduled meetings with Socialists, Communists and Greens.
• The latest cabinet collapsed in less than 14 hours when conservative leader Bruno Retailleau withdrew support for the fledgling lineup.
• Former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Édouard Philippe publicly distanced themselves from Macron, with Philippe urging early presidential elections after the 2026 budget is adopted as Macron maintains he intends to serve until 2027.
• Negotiators cite broad agreement on cutting the deficit to roughly 4.7–5% to meet EU commitments, while any suspension of the pension reform would carry significant fiscal costs, with markets attentive to public debt near 115% of GDP.