French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that he would announce a new prime minister in the next 48 hours. The country’s outgoing Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu suddenly resigned on Monday.
The appointment of a new prime minister to replace Lecornu would make snap legislative elections in France less likely, at least for now. The announcement by Macron’s office regarding the appointment of a new prime minister came as Lecornu, despite his resignation at the request of the president, spent two days in parliament debating whether there was enough support in the powerful but divided lower house to form a new government.
Lecornu concluded from the talks that even though Macron’s camp and its allies do not have a majority in the National Assembly, they have enough support to form a new government. Political turmoil has continued in France over the past year as prime ministers appointed by Macron have resigned.
The presidential statement said that following his talks with political parties, Lecornu has concluded that the majority of National Assembly MPs do not want snap parliamentary elections and that it is “possible” that they could agree on a 2026 budget for France by the end of the year.
“On this basis, the President of the Republic will announce within 48 hours the name of a prime minister,” the statement said, giving no indication of who Macron would choose for the post. However, Lecornu indicated that he would not become Prime Minister again.