Far-right National Rally snubs French PM’s bid to salvage cabinet amid political turmoil – as it happened

German newspaper Bild has more details on the stabbing of the mayor in the country’s west.

The outlet reports that Stalzer’s 15-year-old adopted son had been taken from the scene in handcuffs. The son told police that his mother had been attacked by several men, Bild said.

To be clear: there is still no announced suspect or motive.

If he is out and about, that might mean the talks have not amounted to much. Although no doubt his deputies and aides will be continuing in his absence.

The first images of the day are coming out showing a very distracted-looking Sébastien Lecornu, the outgoing prime minister, attending public events.

Here he is leaving a memorial tent in Paris, set up to pay tribute to the victims of the 7 October Hamas attacks.

Despite the political crisis engulfing France, George Clooney still thinks it’s a better place to raise kids than California:

Related: George Clooney says his children have a ‘much better life’ being raised in France than LA

Some more details on the building in Madrid from El País:

The Spanish newspaper reported that at least six floors had collapsed and there may be at least one person trapped, if not more, citing unidentified sources close to the investigation.

Italy’s space agency and Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Italian aerospace group Leonardo and France’s Thales, will begin operations at one of Europe’s largest satellite manufacturing centres by the end of this year.

The site, on the outskirts of Rome, is part of efforts by Italy and France to accelerate the production of satellites, as Europe races to rival the space capabilities of China and the US, led by companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said at the site’s inauguration on Tuesday:

The (satellites market) is one we cannot miss, we need to be part of it starting from now ... our aim is to become global players.

The 21,000 sq metre (226,000 sq feet) plant – which cost 100m euros (£87m), financed in part by EU post-Covid funds – will manufacture around 100 satellites per year.

As we’ve been reporting, Gisèle Pelicot – seen here today with her son Florian - has returned to the public eye this week.

Husamettin Dogan, an unemployed builder, is seeking to overturn his conviction for raping her when she had been drugged unconscious by her husband has told a court he “never intended” to rape her.

You can read a report of the opening day of the appeal from my colleague Angelique Chrisafis here:

Related: Man convicted in Gisèle Pelicot case says he ‘never intended’ to rape her

Today in court, an investigator said Husamettin Dogan was “fully aware” she was asleep when he abused her for over three hours.

Investigator Jeremie Bosse-Platiere said:

I have no doubt that he was fully aware of the victim’s condition.Anyone who sees the videos understands this immediately.

Meanwhile, away from France, Russia’s state nuclear energy company has said a Ukrainian drone attempted to strike a nuclear plant in the Voronezh region, which borders Ukraine.

In a statement reported by Reuters, Rosenergoatom said that a drone crashed into a cooling tower at the plant, but caused no damage:

There was no damage or injuries; however, the detonation left a dark mark on the cooling tower. The safe operation of the nuclear power plant is ensured.

Rosenergoatom added that radiation levels were normal and unchanged.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the alleged incident, which Rosenergoatom described as “another act of aggression by the Ukrainian armed forces against Russian nuclear power plants”.

Moscow has previously accused Kyiv of attacking nuclear power stations in the Kursk and Smolensk regions of western Russia.

Ukraine, in turn, has accused Russia of deliberately creating radiation risks at nuclear power stations on Ukrainian territory.

The Hotel Matignon, the prime minister’s residence, where talks are being held:

Our Economics editor, Heather Stewart, explains how France’s financial/political meltdown is part of a wider global trend:

Each country’s domestic political challenges are different but there is a broader picture here. Many governments ran up significant debts during the global financial crisis, and again through the Covid pandemic.

These remained manageable during the extended period of low interest rates that followed the crash. But post-pandemic, central banks began raising rates to battle the rise in inflation as global industry reopened after the Covid shutdown, and then the fresh increase in prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Related: France is in crisis but bond markets leave other governments at risk of meltdown too

Stepping aside from French politics for a moment, here is an update from our Brussels correspondent, Jennifer Rankin, on the ongoing case of Italian MEP Ilaria Salis:

The European parliament will vote later today on whether to preserve the immunity of Salis, following a request from Hungarian authorities.

Salis was detained in Hungary for more than 15 months, mostly in prison, but released in June 2024 after her election to the European parliament brought immunity from the charges.

She denies the charges of assault levied by Hungarian authorities, which are related to her participation in an anti-fascist demonstration in Budapest in February 2023. She said she risks being sentenced to “24 years of harsh imprisonment” in Hungary for her political views.

The European parliament will also vote on whether to lift the immunity of the Hungarian centre-right MEP Péter Magyar, the main challenger to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in next year’s parliamentary elections.

Magyar, who founded the Tisza party, is accused by Hungarian authorities of defamation and throwing a man’s phone into the Danube river – charges that are widely seen as politically motivated.

The European parliament meeting in Strasbourg is expected to reject both requests for immunity, although the outlook for Salis is more uncertain.

The radical left MEP needs to win the support of large numbers of MEPs from the centre-right European People’s party in the secret ballot. A Spanish EPP MEP, responsible for drafting an opinion on her case, had recommended accepting the request to lift her immunity, but was overruled by his colleagues.

Speaking to the Guardian last month, Salis said that at the February 2023 rally she had been taken away in a taxi by Hungarian police who did not initially identify themselves. She denied all charges and said she was ready to stand trial in Italy.

Parliamentary immunity is intended to ensure MEPs can carry out their work without exposure to arbitrary political persecution, meaning they cannot be subject to any form of legal proceedings or detention because of opinions expressed or their work as MEPs.

Related: ‘It was a very tough period’: Italian antifascist MEP Ilaria Salis on her 15-month detention in Hungary

“The Incapables”

Shown on the front page are:

President Emmanuel Macron (centre), Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu (right) and Bruno Retailleau, a conservative politician whose public opposition to the cabinet line-up was pivotal in forcing the government’s collapse (left).

This is how deep the crisis in France is:

• If President Emmanuel Macron appoints a new prime minister, the person would be the eighth premier of his rule.

• Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, who was appointed less than a month ago, tendered his resignation barely 12 hours after the key members of his cabinet had been announced.

• He became the shortest-lived prime minister in modern French history.

• France’s political crisis is twinned with a financial crisis. The debt-to-GDP ratio is the EU’s third-highest after Greece and Italy, almost twice the 60% permitted under EU rules.

Journalists are outside the Hotel Matignon in Paris, where French politicians are meeting with outgoing prime minister Sébastien Lecornu.

For those in need of a refresher on what happened yesterday (and a little history of France’s highly dramatic political scramblings…), here is an excellent explainer by my Paris-based colleague, Jon Henley:

Related: What happened on a chaotic day in French politics – and what next?

The key part is at the end, where Jon lays out three options for Macron going forward:

First, he could name a new prime minister. A figure from within his own camp now appears unlikely, while even a moderate leftwinger would challenge his hard-won pension overhauls.

On the other hand, appointing a confirmed rightwinger would infuriate the left bloc. Given the pressing need to achieve a minimum of consensus to at least pass a budget for this year, some analysts have suggested he may try to turn to a non-party political technocrat.

Second, he could dissolve the national assembly and call fresh legislative elections, a move he has consistently said he is reluctant to do and which polls suggest would probably return another divided parliament – or potentially usher in a far-right government.

The anti-immigrant National Rally of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella have made clear this is their preferred option, calling on Macron to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections.

His final option would be to resign, but again, he has repeatedly ruled out standing aside before the presidential election in 2027 – a vote seen as a historic crossroads in French politics, with Le Pen sensing her best ever chance of taking power.