Overview
- President Emmanuel Macron set a Friday deadline to appoint a new premier after Sébastien Lecornu reported a very narrow parliamentary opening to pass a year‑end budget.
- Lecornu said an absolute majority opposes dissolving the National Assembly, making snap elections less likely for now, though he ruled himself out of returning as prime minister.
- Macron summoned party and faction leaders to the Élysée today before deciding, excluding representatives of the far‑left and far‑right parties, according to AFP.
- Key obstacles persist over the 2023 pension reform and fiscal targets, with conservative figures rejecting any suspension of the retirement‑age law and pushing back on a looser deficit goal.
- Media floated names including Lecornu, Bernard Cazeneuve, Pierre Moscovici and Jean‑Louis Borloo, while officials warn that failure to pass a budget could force emergency laws next year and keep the risk of elections that could boost the RN.