French President Macron hopes to appoint a new government within 48 hours. Due to the rejection of the 2025 budget, the cabinet will sign emergency legislation on Wednesday (December 11) to extend the 2024 budget.
After attending the reopening event of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Macron resumed negotiations with various parties on Monday to prepare for the appointment of a new prime minister. On Tuesday, he invited leaders of all parties and parliamentary groups, except for the right-wing “National Rally” (RN) and far-left “La France Insoumise,” to come together in an effort to seek consensus on the prime ministerial candidate and form a government that aligns with the interests of all.
According to Reuters, Olivier Faure, the leader of the French Socialist Party, described the talks on Tuesday with Macron and other major party leaders as “interesting but inconclusive.” Faure stated that the decision rests with Macron, saying, “The ball is now in the president’s court.”
Macron hopes the largest center-left party in France, the Socialist Party, can help his next prime minister avoid another vote of no confidence, but the Socialist Party wants him to appoint a leftist prime minister in exchange.
Before heading to the Élysée Palace for discussions, Faure posted a letter to Macron on X, once again threatening that if he appoints another right-wing prime minister, the Socialist Party will immediately withdraw from negotiations.
Last week, the government led by the senior conservative prime minister, Michel Barnier, was overturned in a vote of no confidence in parliament, marking the second major political crisis in France in six months. Barnier invoked the constitutional mechanism to forcefully pass the 2024 social security budget without a vote in the National Assembly, triggering dissatisfaction among the majority of parliamentarians, who then proposed an impeachment motion against his government.
The Socialist Party is seen as a potential key force in forming a new government. Obtaining their support is believed to enable the new government to secure enough parliamentary backing.
A presidential aide was cited in the report as saying that Macron informed party leaders that he hopes to avoid dissolving parliament again before the end of his second and final term in 2027. Macron dissolved the parliament in June this year, triggering early elections.
The aide revealed that Macron also stated that he does not want to rely on the support of left-wing or right-wing parties like the “National Rally” and requested their agreement to a “non-aggression pact.”