Macron asks French PM to salvage cabinet

In a bid to save his country from further political turmoil, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to return to work just hours after accepting his resignation on Monday.

Lecornu, who had only been in the role for 27 days, unveiled a new cabinet on Sunday that was immediately condemned from across the political spectrum for containing too many of the same faces from the previous government. He resigned on Monday morning.

By Monday evening, Lecornu had accepted Macron's request to spend 48 hours trying to salvage his administration in talks with lawmakers, aiming to win cross-party guarantees for a stable cabinet, address critics' concerns, and avert fresh elections.

He was due to meet party leaders at the prime minister's office on Tuesday evening in an attempt to break the political impasse that has paralyzed French governance for more than a year.

According to an aide, Lecornu is to conduct "final negotiations by Wednesday evening to define a platform of action and stability for the country".

Lecornu announced on social media: "I have accepted, at the request of the president, to hold final discussions with the political forces for the stability of the country.

"I will tell the head of state on Wednesday evening whether this is possible or not, so that he can draw all the necessary conclusions."

It is only one month ago that Macron originally tasked 39-year-old Lecornu with forming a government after parliament toppled his predecessor over an austerity budget.

A presidential official said Macron would "assume his responsibilities" if the talks fail — widely read as a hint at fresh elections, reported French media.

Adding to the confusion, Lecornu indicated that even if the talks succeeded, he did not want to return as prime minister, according to television channel BFMTV.

If Macron chooses to appoint a new prime minister, it would be the eighth of his presidency.

Former prime minister Edouard Philippe backed an early presidential election amid the crisis, telling RTL he supports returning to voters after Lecornu's resignation. Farright National Rally leader Jordan Bardella echoed the call, urging a dissolution of parliament first, then new parliamentary or early presidential elections.

France's financial and political turbulence fits a wider global pattern, according to analysis from The Guardian newspaper.

Each country's politics differ, but the backdrop is similar, it said, noting that many governments accumulated heavy debts during the global financial crisis and again during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those debts were sustainable while interest rates stayed low. After the pandemic, however, the central banks raised rates to curb inflation driven by reopening economies, and then by further price pressures from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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