French PM in final bid to salvage cabinet amid political turmoil – Europe live

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