PARIS — Outgoing French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu expressed confidence Wednesday morning that enough lawmakers could agree on a budget for next year to avoid the need for snap elections in the coming weeks.
Lecornu at a brief press conference said he had “good news” of a “desire to have a budget for France before December 31.”
“This desire,” he said, “distances the prospect of dissolution.”
After submitting his government’s resignation Monday, thrusting France into a crisis with little precedent, President Emmanuel Macron gave the outgoing PM until Wednesday evening to find a way out of the impasse.
Lecornu has already met with parliamentary leaders and heads of parties from his own coalition and is set to meet with representatives from the political left Wednesday. He will submit his conclusions on the feasibility of reaching an agreement to Macron in the evening.
Macron, who has remained silent since Lecornu’s resignation, has faced increasing calls to either call new parliamentary elections or resign, including from some high-ranking figures within his own camp.
The French president on Tuesday met with the presidents of both houses of parliament, fueling speculation that he was leaning toward a dissolution as he is constitutionally required to notify the duo before doing so.
However, Yaël Braun-Pivet, who leads the National Assembly, threw cold water on the prospect, saying in an interview Wednesday that Macron had not discussed the prospect of new elections with her.
This developing story is being updated.
