President Emmanuel Macron will meet leaders of France’s main political parties on Friday as pressure mounts for him to appoint a new prime minister before a self-imposed 48-hour deadline expires, amid warnings that the country’s prolonged political turmoil is beginning to weigh on economic growth.
The talks, scheduled for 12:30 GMT at the Élysée Palace, come as Macron faces one of the toughest leadership tests of his presidency, finding a consensus figure capable of uniting France’s fractured parliament and steering through a contentious 2026 budget.
The president is searching for his sixth prime minister in less than two years, underscoring the instability that has plagued his second term.
Among those being discussed in political circles are veteran centrist Jean-Louis Borloo, public auditor Pierre Moscovici, and former prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, who resigned on Monday and has since indicated he is not seeking reappointment.
“People tell me ‘he’s going to test the Lecornu 2 hypothesis on you.’ If that’s the case, I wish him good luck,” Green Party leader Marine Tondelier quipped on TF1 television.
France’s central bank governor, François Villeroy de Galhau, warned that the political crisis is starting to dent economic confidence, predicting it could shave 0.2 percentage points off GDP growth.
“Uncertainty is the number one enemy of growth,” he said on RTL radio, adding that while business sentiment had weakened, the economy remained fundamentally stable.
The euro zone’s second-largest economy has been mired in its deepest political gridlock in decades, triggered partly by Macron’s failed snap election gamble last year that left his centrist alliance further short of a parliamentary majority.
Budget negotiations have become increasingly fraught, with Macron losing three prime ministers in under 12 months over fiscal disagreements. France’s deficit is projected to reach 5.4% of GDP this year, well above the European Union’s 3% cap, and Villeroy urged that it not exceed 4.8% by 2026.
Macron’s previous premier, François Bayrou, was toppled by parliament after his proposal to save €44 billion and reduce the deficit to 4.6% sparked fierce resistance. Rating agencies have issued new warnings about France’s sovereign credit score this week following Lecornu’s abrupt resignation, just 14 hours after he unveiled his new cabinet.
As the clock ticks toward his Friday deadline, Macron faces a delicate balancing act: choosing a leader who can restore stability without alienating the increasingly divided National Assembly.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
