French President Emmanuel Macron has tasked outgoing premier Sébastien Lecornu with seeking a way out of the country’s crisis following Lecornu’s surprise resignation on Monday.
The Élysée Palace said Macron had asked Lecornu, who continues as caretaker premier, to conduct the last-ditch negotiations by Wednesday evening aimed at establishing a framework to ensure stability.
Lecornu posted on X in response: “At the request of the president, I have said that I am ready to conduct final talks with the political forces to ensure the stability of the country.”
He added that he would inform Macron on Wednesday evening whether this was possible, “so that he can draw all the necessary conclusions from it.”
The Le Figaro newspaper reported, citing sources close to the president, that Macron would accept responsibility should these final negotiations fail.
The president recently ruled out resigning, but he could dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
His decision to do so last year is seen as causing the current crisis, as it resulted in strengthening the far-left and the far-right forces in the National Assembly.