President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to name a new prime minister almost two months after legislative elections left France in political deadlock, with an announcement possible as soon as Wednesday evening, sources close to him said.
But even with the clock ticking down to the long-awaited announcement, the identity of the new head of government was far from clear.
Conservative former minister Xavier Bertrand is seen as the favourite but Macron had also been sounding out opinion on a return to office for former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, multiple sources have said over the last days.
But after days of frenetic speculation, an entirely new name entered the fray on Wednesday -- the right-wing mayor of the southern city of Cannes David Lisnard.
The outcome could finally be announced on Wednesday.
This is "the objective", a source close to Macron told AFP, adding that Bertrand and Cazeneuve were still in the race.
Either of the pair would likely face a no-confidence motion that could garner support from both the left bloc and the far-right National Rally (RN), both implacably opposed to Macron and his policy record.
Lisnard, however, is regarded as a more palatable figure for the RN, who after the election make up the single biggest party in parliament.
Bertrand served as minister under conservative presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy and has more recently run the northern Hauts-de-France region, where he vaunts his two electoral victories holding back the RN's advance.
Macron's decision comes under the gun of a deadline to submit a draft 2025 government budget for France's strained government finances before October 1.
It also marks his attempt to acknowledge rejection of his seven-year rule without giving up on hard-fought reforms, chief among them last year's widely resented increase to the official retirement age.
After a snap election deprived Macron of his relative majority in parliament on July 7, the centrist president has drawn out the appointment of a new prime minister for a period unprecedented since World War II, through the July-August Olympic Games and beyond.
Macron called the polls earlier this summer after the far right trounced his ruling party in June European elections.
A left-wing coalition emerged from the election as the biggest political force but with nowhere near enough seats for an overall majority, while Macron's centrist faction and the far right make up the two other major groups in the National Assembly.
