France's outgoing PM Lecornu rules out parliament dissolution amid deepening crisis

Paris [France], October 8 : Caretaker French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has downplayed the possibility of dissolving parliament after holding talks with political parties aimed at forming a coalition and passing an austerity budget to resolve the country's most severe political crisis in years, Al Jazeera reported.

Lecornu said the discussions reflected a shared desire among political groups to approve the proposed budget cuts by the end of the year. The development follows weeks of stalemate that have sparked growing calls for President Emmanuel Macron to resign.

"This willingness creates a momentum and a convergence, obviously, which make the possibilities of a dissolution more remote," Lecornu said in a speech on Wednesday at Paris's Matignon Palace, according to Al Jazeera.

Lecornu, who resigned on Monday after serving less than a month as prime minister, said he would present a plan to Macron later on Wednesday.

The plan comes as France grapples with a political impasse triggered by Macron's decision to call snap elections last year in a bid to strengthen his majority in parliament. Instead, the vote produced an even more fragmented assembly, Al Jazeera reported.

The outcome plunged France into deeper political turmoil, leaving the government without a working majority and unable to pass a budget aimed at reducing the country's mounting debt.

In his efforts to end the deadlock, Macron has appointed three prime ministers, all of whom either failed to secure parliamentary backing or were forced to resign, including Lecornu.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders have capitalised on the crisis. Marine Le Pen, a prominent figure of the far-right National Rally (NR) party, renewed her demand for Macron to step down before his term ends in 2027.

"Let's return to the ballot box," Le Pen said on Monday. "The French must decide, that is clear," she told reporters, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Le Pen and NR President Jordan Bardella refused to participate in negotiations with Lecornu, saying such discussions served "the interests of Macron" rather than those of French citizens. They instead called for the dissolution of the National Assembly. Following last year's elections, NR emerged as the single largest party but fell short of a majority.

In September, a TF1-LCI poll revealed that more than 60 percent of French voters supported fresh elections, while a survey by Ifop Fiducial suggested that NR leaders would lead the first round if the elections were held again.

Leaders from other parties, including Jean-Luc Melenchon of the far-left France Unbowed and Francois-Xavier Bellamy of the right-wing Republicans, have also urged Macron to resign.

The political chaos has not only emboldened Macron's opponents but also alienated some of his allies.

"I no longer understand the decision of the president. There was the dissolution, and since then, there's been decisions that suggest a relentless desire to stay in control," said Gabriel Attal, leader of the president's centrist party.

"People are abandoning him on all sides; it's clear that he is responsible for the political crisis, which gets worse each day," political analyst Elisa Auange told Al Jazeera. "He seems to be making all the wrong decisions."

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor