Outgoing French PM says snap election less likely as budget talks advance

French outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gives a statement on the sidelines of his talks with political party leaders at the Hotel Matignon in Paris on 8 October 2025. AFP - STEPHANIE LECOCQ

France’s outgoing Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, on Wednesday made a last-ditch bid to unite rival parties and pull his collapsed government out of political deadlock – hoping to agree on a budget and head off the threat of a snap election.

Speaking outside Matignon, the prime minister’s office, shortly before he began a day of talks with rival parties, Lecornu said the possibility of a dissolution of parliament was “more remote” because parties across the spectrum had shown “a desire to have a budget for France before 31 December”.