PARIS: Outgoing French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is launching two days of urgent negotiations starting Tuesday, aiming to resolve the country’s escalating political crisis. This follows his unexpected resignation just a day earlier.
Lecornu stepped down on Monday morning, along with his government, after the new cabinet he announced Sunday evening was swiftly rejected by both political allies and opponents.
His administration now holds the record as the shortest-lived in modern French history, according to Reuters.
Despite accepting his resignation, President Emmanuel Macron has tasked Lecornu with leading discussions to break the political impasse, giving him a deadline of Wednesday evening to deliver results.
The move has left many in the political sphere puzzled, with some suggesting the talks are merely a stalling tactic nearly a month after Lecornu was first nominated for the role. The exact authority and scope of his role during these talks remain unclear.
“Like many French citizens, I no longer understand the president’s decisions,” said Gabriel Attal, a centrist MP and former prime minister under Macron.
Lecornu is expected to meet early Tuesday with key figures from the conservative Les Républicains (LR) and centrist Renaissance parties, including Senate President Gérard Larcher and National Assembly Speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet.
(Inputs from Reuters)
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