Meetings were scheduled in the early hours of the morning from 2:30 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron called this Friday afternoon hearings on the leaders of political parties, except the extreme right and the radical left, on the last day of the deadline he proposed to appoint a new prime minister.
According to those responsible for those political forces, the meetings were scheduled in the early hours of the morning from 2:30 pm (1:30 pm in Lisbon), without an agenda, reported France Info.
The Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French head of state, announced on Wednesday that it had set a deadline of 48 hours before appointing an executive leader, as Sébastien Lecornu had submitted his resignation on Monday morning, just 14 hours after his full government list was known.
Macron asked Lecornu to remain in office for two more days to find out whether it was possible to form another executive with the current parliamentary composition.
The incumbent considered on Wednesday afternoon that there was the possibility of trying to form a new government that could present a state budget for 2026 without the need for early legislative elections.
The National Union (RN), by far-right populist Marine Le Pen, and Insubmissive France, by leftist radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon, were excluded from the presidential call for today’s afternoon hearings.
Le Pen has already stated that she will censure any prime minister appointed by Macron, defending early elections, while Mélenchon points to the president as the main culprit of the political crisis that has been dragging on in France and that the solution is for him to abdicate power.
According to the French press, among the possible names to succeed Lecornu – without ruling out the possibility of him remaining – are former conservative minister Jean-Louis Borloo and former socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
The budgetary issue is crucial because, in addition to the political crisis, France is experiencing moments of great social unrest due to its financial situation, with a deficit of 5.8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024 and several failures to meet European targets.
French debt continues to increase, reaching 115.6% of GDP at the end of the second half of the year.
