France's shortest-serving prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, assured in a speech on Wednesday that the possibility of dissolving parliament after the failure of another cabinet was “unlikely.” After talks with the leaders of several political parties, he added that there was a “general willingness” to pass the budget by the end of the year.
“There is a willingness to pass the budget for France by December 31 of this year,” he told reporters. “This willingness creates momentum and unity, which of course reduces the likelihood of parliament being dissolved,” the former defense minister and former prime minister added in a speech in the courtyard of the Palais Matignon in Paris, the seat of government.
The shortest-serving head of government
Lecornu submitted his resignation on Monday at the government's first meeting. The ministers had not even had time to take over the agenda of their departments, and after the prime minister's resignation, the entire cabinet falls.
The long-time ally of President Emmanuel Macron surprised his colleagues from the Renaissance party coalition and representatives of parliament with this move. Several therefore called not only for new parliamentary elections, but also for new presidential elections. The National Assembly, together with the Senate, has the right to dismiss the head of the Élysée Palace.
Lecornu will meet with Macron later today to discuss the results of negotiations with political parties.
Lecornu, a lifelong representative of the moderate Gaullist right, surpassed the record set by his predecessor Michel Barnier, whose government was toppled on December 13, 2024, after three months in office, by resigning after 14 hours.
The president wants to throw another grenade
Macron is said to have reflected on the consequences of the fall of the fifth government in the last two years during his media-effective walk through Paris on October 6. On Tuesday, he met with the heads of the legislature—the president of the National Assembly (lower house) Yaël Braun-Pivet and the president of the Senate Gérard Larcher.
The daily newspaper Le Monde assessed this move as possible preparation for further early elections. These in the summer of 2024 were a reaction to the strengthening of Le Pen's National Assembly (RN), which received the most votes in the French elections. However, the radical left-wing Unbowed France (LFI) won as a coalition.
In the event of another failure, the president would “take responsibility,” the Élysée Palace announced. According to Le Monde, this was an indirect threat of further elections.
Macron himself described last year's extraordinary elections as “throwing a sharp grenade” at parliament. According to Le Monde sources, another such metaphorical throw is planned between November 16 and 23.