Emmanuel Macron has summoned leaders of several political parties to a crunch meeting at the presidential palace, urging them to show “collective responsibility” as he races to appoint a new prime minister by Friday night. The invitation, sent at 2am, excluded Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s leftwing La France Insoumise, deepening the political crisis.
The centrist president is under intense pressure after Sébastien Lecornu, a Macron ally, resigned as prime minister just 14 hours after forming a government, without attending a cabinet meeting or delivering a policy speech. Lecornu was the third French prime minister in a year, following the ousting of François Bayrou over budget cuts and the fallout from Macron’s inconclusive snap election.
France’s parliament remains split into three blocs—left, far right, and centre—none with a clear majority. A budget for next year must be agreed within weeks, but political parties are at loggerheads. Macron is seeking a figure who can broker a compromise or non-aggression pact to steer a budget through the fractured assembly.
Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally, said his party was “honoured” not to have been invited, adding: “Our party is not for sale.” Mélenchon called for Macron’s resignation, which the president has ruled out before his term ends in 2027. France’s central bank chief warned that political uncertainty is “the No 1 enemy of growth,” threatening business and consumer confidence.
Macron has promised to name a new prime minister by Friday, who must then form a government by the weekend to meet early budget deadlines. The president, who oversees foreign policy and national security, directly appoints the prime minister to run domestic affairs under France’s political system.
