PARIS (Realist English). Facing two motions of no confidence, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has asked Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to examine the possibility of holding early legislative elections on the same dates as France’s municipal elections, scheduled for March 15 and 22, according to several French media outlets and AFP.
The move follows the submission of no-confidence motions by the far-right National Rally (RN) and the radical left France Unbowed (LFI), both accusing the government of failing to block the approval of the EU–Mercosur trade agreement.
The motions are expected to be debated in the National Assembly next week, between Tuesday and Wednesday. If either motion is adopted, the government would be forced to resign, automatically triggering early parliamentary elections.
On Friday morning, Lecornu sharply criticised RN and LFI in a post on X, accusing them of prioritising political confrontation over national interests. “Tabling a motion of no-confidence in this context is a deliberate choice to display internal divisions,” he wrote. “It is a choice to weaken France’s voice rather than demonstrate national unity in defence of our agriculture.”