French president Emmanuel Macron aims to name a new Prime Minister "within 48 hours", party chiefs who met him on Tuesday told AFP, after premier Michel Barnier was toppled last week, reports FRANCE 24.
Macron had gathered leaders of major political parties at his Élysée Palace office in a bid to thrash out the conditions for a new government that could escape losing a no-confidence vote in France's hung parliament.
Shutting out the far-right National Rally (RN) and hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), Macron's initiative comes as caretaker ministers scramble to clarify France's 2025 finances, after the last administration fell over its cost-cutting budget.
People close to Macron said he would propose "a method" to find a new government despite France's hung parliament.
Barnier had been supported by the conservative Les Républicans and Macron's centrist camp. But the alliance was far short of a majority in a National Assembly and was brought down by a left-wing alliance, including LFI, and the far-right National Rally (RN).
It was unclear how a broader base of support could be built for any new government.