France’s third prime minister in less than year is at risk of being ousted after just 20 days in office.
Sebastien Lecornu has been warned by MPs from opposition parties that they will bring him down unless he caves into their demands.
The Emmanuel Macron appointee has not named a government since taking over from the ousted Francois Bayrou, with ministerial roles currently being occupied on an interim basis.
Mr Lecornu has faced mounting pressure after failing to reveal his budget for next year, despite being warned by observers to act quickly if it is to be given the green light ahead of the new year.
Sebastien Lecornu has been warned by MPs from opposition parties that they will bring him down unless he caves into their demands
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Mr Lecornu previously warned that without an approved budget, the deficit would rise to 6 per cent of GDP this year, compared with the current forecast of 5.4 per cent.
The fate of the newly elected prime minister rests with MPs from the National Rally and the Socialist Party, who have worked closely with far-left parliamentarians to oust the previous two premiers.
Socialist Party first secretary Olivier Faure has warned that his party will move to oust Mr Lecornu unless he agrees to a take hike on France’s high earners.
Mr Faure added that he would be holding a “last chance” meeting with the Renaissance PM after Thursday’s planned union strikes.
PICTURED: Olivier Faure (centre) has warned that his party will move to oust Mr Lecornu unless he agrees to a take hike on France’s high earners
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He said: “If nothing changes, there will be a confidence vote, this [prime minister] will fall and there will probably be a dissolution [of parliament].”
The demand comes as a blow to Mr Macron, who scrapped France’s wealth tax in 2017 as part of his pro-business agenda.
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen has joined forces with her ideological adversaries on the left to put Mr Lecornu under pressure, calling for a “total break with the policies of the past eight years”.
Ms Le Pen’s party has called on Mr Macron’s government to enforce tighter immigration laws to balance the books.
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Mr Macron scrapped France’s wealth tax in 2017 as part of his pro-business agenda
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REUTERSOn Friday, the French Prime Minister ruled out re-introducing a wealth tax and scrapping the pension reform, which sparked protests across the country.
Ahead of the unveiling of the 2026 budget, Mr Lecornu told Le Parisien newspaper that he was “starting from a blank script”.
He added: “It is parliament which will shape the nation’s budget.
“In the end it will not be Lecornu’s budget: compromises will have to be found in the chamber.”
French economist Gabriel Zucman has called on Mr Macron to re-introduce a 2 per cent tax on top of income tax on individuals with assets exceeding €100million (£87.3million).
Mr Zucman has claimed the measure will secure around €20billion (£17.4billion) for the French government.
However, this figure has been heavily disputed by fellow economist Mikael Petitjean, who argues it would bring in about a quarter of the figure claimed by Mr Zucman.
Mr Petitjean told Euronews that he thinks its possible the measure “won’t make any money at all”.
