Overview

• Sébastien Lecornu resigned after roughly 14 hours in office, then conducted 48 hours of talks and reported an absolute majority in the National Assembly against new elections.
• The Élysée said those talks identified a potential platform for stability that could allow a 2026 budget to be adopted by year‑end, with a new draft expected to reach the cabinet on Monday.
• Lecornu identified the 2023 pension law as the key stumbling block, noting left‑wing parties demand at least a suspension that he estimated would cost not less than €3 billion in 2027.
• Opposition forces signaled they would try to topple any incoming cabinet, with Marine Le Pen pledging to vote against all measures and La France Insoumise threatening censure motions.
• Macron is set to choose a successor to Lecornu by Friday, as parties dispute whether to reopen the pension issue and how to assemble votes for the budget in a hung parliament.