Macron in Freefall: Lecornu begins last-ditch talks after government collapses in 14 hours
Outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is starting two days of last-ditch talks on Tuesday with members of various parties, a day after his shock resignation, in an effort to find a way out of the country’s political crisis.
Macron tasked Lecornu on Monday with holding the talks, setting a deadline for Wednesday evening. It was not immediately clear, however, what the scope his responsibilities would be during these discussions.
Politicians of various stripes expressed confusion about the president’s moves, with some arguing that Lecornu’s new task was merely an effort to buy more time nearly a month after the outgoing prime minister’s nomination.
The outgoing PM is set to meet early on Tuesday with several members of Les Republicains (LR) and Renaissance parties, including Senate head Gerard Larcher and National Assembly head Yael Braun-Pivet.
All of this unfolds as President Macron finds himself with increasingly limited room to maneuver. The abrupt resignation of his prime minister Monday — his fourth in more than a year of almost ceaseless political upheaval — puts the French leader in a bind.
None of the options now look appealing for Macron, from his perspective at least. And for France, the road ahead promises more of the political uncertainty that is eroding investor confidence in the European Union’s second-largest economy and is frustrating efforts to rein in France’s damaging state deficit and debts, according to The Associated Press.
The country’s current political crisis, its deepest since the creation in 1958 of the Fifth Republic, dates to June of last year, when Macron announced snap elections for the lower parliamentary house. The result was a fractured parliament with no clear majority.
For the time being, opposition parties are calling on the President to dissolve parliament or resign. Macron, whose term ends in 2027, has so far ruled out stepping down or calling new parliamentary elections.
