PARIS: France’s caretake prime minister on Wednesday said he saw a path to forming a new government but that the “final stretch” would be difficult, adding that it was possible France have a new premier in the next 48 hours.
Sebastien Lecornu, France’s fifth prime minister in two years, tendered his and his government’s resignation on Monday, just hours after announcing the cabinet line-up, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern France.
But at President Emmanuel Macron’s request, Lecornu has held further consultations with political leaders spanning the center left to center right in an effort to defuse the crisis and avoid snap parliamentary elections.
“I told the President of the Republic ... that I believe the situation allows for (him) to name a prime minister in the next 48 hours,” Lecornu told France 2 after briefing Macron on his talks.
Macron has this week faced calls to hold a snap parliamentary elections or resign, in particular from far-right and hardleft politicians but also from some in the political mainstream. Lecornu said his talks with other parties showed there was a majority in parliament against a snap election.
Markets have taken fright at the political paralysis in the euro zone’s second biggest economy, with investors already jittery over the country’s yawning budget deficit.
However, French assets saw some improvement on Wednesday after Lecornu expressed cautious optimism over the possibility of a deal in the morning, with Paris’ CAC 40 index up 1.1 percent on the day. The French benchmark remains one of Europe’s laggards in 2025.
Ahead of Lecornu’s remarks,
French bonds
outperformed their euro zone peers on the possibility that the country’s parliament may agree a budget by the end of the year.
It was unclear when Macron would announce any decisions.
Lecornu made clear he would not be the next prime minister. He declined to say who might be the next prime minister, or what their political leaning would likely be, stressing that this was up to Macron to decide.
France has a path to avoiding snap elections, caretaker PM Lecornu says
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France has a path to avoiding snap elections, caretaker PM Lecornu says
- Lecornu has held further consultations with political leaders spanning the center left to center right in an effort to defuse the crisis
- “I told the President of the Republic ... that I believe the situation allows for (him) to name a prime minister in the next 48 hours,” Lecornu told France 2
Turkiye seeks to host next COP as co-presidency plans falter
- Australia and Turkiye are locked in a stalemate over who should host COP31 in 2026
- Brazil has appointed a representative to help resolve the disagreement between the two countries
ISTANBUL: Turkiye wants to host next year’s UN climate change talks and is ready to organize the event alone if there is no agreement on sharing the event, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP Sunday.
Australia and Turkiye are locked in a stalemate over who should host the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in 2026.
The host is selected by consensus, so unless Australia or Turkiye withdraws or the countries agree to share the conference, both will miss out. A decision should be made at the current COP conference in Belem, Brazil.
If no consensus is reached, the summit would revert to Bonn, the German city that hosts the UN’s climate secretariat.
The Turkish source said discussions with Australia at the UN General Assembly’s annual meetings in September yielded initial proposals for joint management of the event and shared high-level meetings.
But a letter from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the agreements, citing UN rules against joint hosting and concerns about diverting COP’s Pacific-focused agenda, the source said.
Ankara supports developing flexible arrangements through good-faith consultations to ensure the success of COP31, the source said.
“Turkiye continues to advocate a co-presidency model as a step to strengthen multilateralism but is prepared to host the conference independently if consensus cannot be reached,” the source told AFP. Erdogan underlined this position in his response to the Australian prime minister, the source added.
-’Inclusiveness’-
Leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attended a summit in Brazil on November 6-7 to start COP30, but Erdogan and Albanese were not among them.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz attended the summit, while Australia was represented by Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
Brazil has appointed a representative to help resolve the disagreement between Australia and Turkiye, but diplomats say that no progress has been made yet toward reaching an agreement before COP30 wraps up on November 21.
Turkiye wants COP31 to focus on the world’s most vulnerable regions, with potential special sessions addressing Pacific issues, the source added.
The Turkish candidacy is framed as a call for global solidarity and constructive dialogue in climate action.
“Turkiye will continue to act on the principles of cooperation and inclusiveness rather than competition in combating climate change,” the source said, adding that it invites all parties to advance the process on the basis of “constructive dialogue and mutual respect.”
