Overview

• President Emmanuel Macron tasked outgoing prime minister Sébastien Lecornu with 48 hours of consultations and signaled he would “take responsibility” if they fail, a phrase widely read as keeping dissolution on the table.
• Macron’s team indicated Lecornu would not automatically return to Matignon even if he forges a compromise, underscoring uncertainty over who could lead any new government.
• The Rassemblement National and its UDR allies vowed to censure any cabinet until a dissolution or the president’s departure, heightening the risk that any nominee is toppled immediately.
• Party positions remain irreconcilable: LR demands a cohabitation it can shape, the PS and Greens push for a left-led government without 49.3, LFI presses for Macron’s resignation or destitution, and RN urges a rapid return to the polls.
• Public pressure builds for new elections, with a TF1-cited poll showing over 66% in favor, as figures like Édouard Philippe float a caretaker budget government followed by an early presidential vote and the 2026 budget calendar grows uncertain.