Macron aims to install new French PM quickly if government falls, sources say

By Elizabeth Pineau and Michel Rose

French President Emmanuel Macron aims to install a new prime minister quickly if his government falls on Wednesday, three sources told Reuters.

One of the sources said Macron hoped to have someone in place as soon as Saturday, when an A-list guest list including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are due to gather in Paris for the re-opening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

"Nothing has been decided," the Elysee said in response to a request for comment.

After a snap election this summer yielded an unruly hung parliament, Macron spent weeks in drawn-out talks with figures from across the political spectrum, before eventually settling on Michel Barnier to head a government. One source said Macron aimed to move quickly this time to avoid spooking markets.

Macron has not yet settled on a name, the sources said, but figures on his list include leftist Bernard Cazeneuve, former minister Xavier Bertrand, and Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The president was working on the name as he flew back to Paris from a trip to Saudi Arabia, one source said.

It remains to be seen if Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party would be willing to back a name proposed by Macron, or whether it would seek to topple the nominee with an immediate no-confidence motion, most likely in cahoots with the left.

The RN and the left are almost certain to bring Barnier's brief time in office to a close later on Wednesday, during a no-confidence vote following weeks of tensions to get the 2025 budget bill approved.