Outgoing French PM Lecornu talks down prospect of snap election amid ‘most serious political crisis in decades’

Caretaker French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday expressed cautious optimism that an agreement on France’s budget could be achieved by the end of the year, easing concerns over the possibility of a snap election.

French outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gives a statement on the sidelines of his talks with political parties’ leaders in a bid to form a coalition government, able to pass an austerity budget through parliament, at the Hotel Matignon in Paris on October 8, 2025. (AFP)

Sébastien Lecornu made the remarks as he prepared to conclude discussions with representatives of various political parties before reporting back to President Emmanuel Macron on potential solutions to what many see as France’s most serious political crisis in decades.

He also clarified that outgoing ministers will not receive compensation, acknowledging that “a certain number of French people” were angered by the idea.

“There is a willingness to have a budget for France before December 31 of this year,” Lecornu told reporters after meetings on Tuesday with conservatives and centre-right parties, and before meeting the Socialist Party.

“And this willingness creates momentum and convergence, obviously, which reduces the prospects of dissolution (of parliament),” he said.

Lecornu further said he would meet Macron later on Wednesday as planned to discuss the results of his meetings and see if a deal was possible.

Macron has faced repeated opposition calls in recent days to call snap parliamentary elections, or else resign, to end the political crisis.

Lecornu, France’s fifth prime minister in two years, tendered his and his government’s resignation on Monday, hours after it was announced on Sunday, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern France.

That came after allies and foes alike had threatened to topple the new government, with Lecornu saying that would make it impossible for him to do his job.

Lecornu, a Macron loyalist, said he would now see in talks on Wednesday what concessions the Socialists and Greens would want to agree to back a budget deal.

Based on his talks so far, he said he hoped a deal could be reached on bringing France’s budget deficit down to between 4.7% and 5%, from a target of 5.4% in 2025.

(With inputs from Reuters)