Defiant Macron seeks new French PM, exit from crisis

by Stuart Williams

President Emmanuel Macron on Friday was holding talks with French political leaders on the left and right as he seeks to name a new prime minister and find a way out of France's political crisis.

Macron adopted a defiant tone in an address to the nation late Thursday, 24 hours after Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote.

Macron vowed to name a new prime minister in the "coming days", rejected growing pressure from the opposition to resign and blamed an "anti-republican front" of the hard left and far right for France's woes.

Barnier -- contemporary France's shortest-serving premier -- resigned after Wednesday's parliamentary defeat in a standoff over the budget forced his government to step down, the first such toppling of a French administration in more than 60 years.

"I will appoint a prime minister in the coming days," Macron said, adding that a "government of general interest" would be formed to pass a budget.

Barnier -- who was only premier for three months -- and his ministers will remain in charge on a caretaker basis until a new government is appointed.

Macron is to meet leaders of the parliamentary factions of his own centrist forces, the Socialist Party and the right-wing Republicans Friday to continue the search for a compromise, presidential sources said.

AFP France is in a significant political crisis

The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) and far-right National Rally (RN) have not been invited to talks at this stage.

Trying to limit political chaos is all the more important for Macron given that on Saturday he will host world leaders -- including US President-elect Donald Trump -- for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris after a devastating 2019 fire.

- Socialists ready to talk -

Macron, who has long hoped to split the traditional Socialists from their pact with the LFI, received a boost when Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said he was ready to negotiate with the president's centrists and the right.

Faure, who will meet Macron in the afternoon, told Franceinfo radio there should be "reciprocal concessions" from all sides to form a new government and that he was ready for "compromise on all subjects".

But in a sign of how tough the road ahead could be, right-wing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the right would "make no compromise" with the left, which he accused of betraying its principles in its pact with the LFI.

A majority of lawmakers on Wednesday supported the no-confidence vote proposed by the hard left and backed by the far right headed by Marine Le Pen as well as the Socialists.

AFP The French parliament is split three ways

Barnier's ejection in record time came after snap parliamentary elections in June resulted in a hung parliament. No political force was able to form an overall majority and the far right held the key to the government's survival.

The trigger for Barnier's ouster was his 2025 budget plan, including austerity measures unacceptable to a majority in parliament, but which were forced through without a vote using special powers.

- Macron says he won't go -

Barnier is Macron's fifth prime minister since coming to power in 2017. Each successive premier has served for a shorter and shorter period. Given the composition of the National Assembly, there is no guarantee that Barnier's successor will last any longer.

Loyalist Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Macron's centrist ally Francois Bayrou have been touted as possible contenders, as has former Socialist premier and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Constitutional rules means new legislative elections cannot be called until July.

But while Macron has more than two years of his presidential term left, some opponents are calling on him to resign to break the deadlock.

AFP Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure offered a boost for Macron

According to a poll by Odoxa-Backbone Consulting for Le Figaro daily, 59 percent of French people want the president to step down, while a survey by Harris for RTL put the figure even higher, at 64 percent.

But Macron said: "The mandate that you gave to me democratically (in the 2022 elections) is a five-year mandate and I will exercise it fully, right up to the end."

"The 30 months we have ahead of us must be 30 months of useful action for the country."

On its Friday front page, the left-wing daily Liberation accused Macron of "flagrant denial" of his responsibility in the crisis.

© Agence France-Presse