Policy Updates

On October 10, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister, four days after accepting his resignation, amidst opposition from other political parties.

Lecornu accepted the reappointment and committed to ensuring France has a budget by the end of the year. President Macron reportedly granted Lecornu full authority for negotiations with political parties and for proposing government appointments.

Following his reappointment, Lecornu was scheduled to address parliament on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, to outline his budget priorities. The address was aimed at securing support from the Socialist party to avoid losing a no-confidence vote. The far-left and far-right parties had already filed no-confidence motions, with a vote expected on Thursday, October 16, 2025. The Socialists also indicated plans to file their own no-confidence bill.

On October 6, 2025, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned just hours after forming his new government, making him the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history.

The resignation occurred shortly after Lecornu unveiled a cabinet that was almost identical to his predecessor's, François Bayrou, which prompted sharp criticism from within the governing coalition. In a statement, Lecornu said that conditions were not fulfilled to carry out the functions of prime minister and denounced partisan appetites that forced his resignation.

The event extends a period of political turmoil in France that began after French President Emmanuel Macron's snap elections in the summer of 2025 resulted in a fractured parliament. Lecornu's two immediate predecessors, Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were also ousted in standoffs over a proposed austerity budget. Following the news, opposition leaders called for the dissolution of the National Assembly or Macron's resignation.

On September 26, 2025, at a meeting of the AHLC, Norway and 11 other countries launched the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the PA, with Norway contributing NOK40 million (US$4 million) to a crisis package.

The coalition, which also includes Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK, was established to stabilize the PA’s finances and preserve its ability to govern. The launch took place during an AHLC meeting in New York chaired by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa attending virtually. The coalition demanded that Israel immediately release all Palestinian clearance revenues, which constitute over 60% of the revenue the PA needs.

The crisis package aims to support essential services like hospitals and schools. Norway’s contribution is in addition to NOK200 million (US$20 million) in budget support transferred earlier in 2025. The coalition will also promote a sustainable and coordinated approach with IFIs to support reforms and ensure accountability, affirming the effort as an investment in regional peace and the two-state solution.

On September 15, 2025, a UN Women report revealed that progress on women's rights is stagnating and regressing due to conflict, aid cuts, and a backlash against gender equality, and called on governments at the UN General Assembly in New York to commit to renewed action, highlighting that the US$420 billion needed annually to advance gender equality is a fraction of the US$2.7 trillion spent on the military.

The report, a gender snapshot monitoring progress on the SDGs, found that 676 million women and girls lived near deadly conflict in 2024, the highest number since the 1990s. Women are also more likely to be affected by rising food insecurity. The report projects that climate change could push an additional 158.3 million women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.

Director of UN Women’s policy division, Sarah Hendriks, contrasted the US$2.7 trillion in annual military spending with the estimated US$420 billion needed to advance gender equality. The report also noted a digital gender divide, which if addressed, could lift 30 million women and girls out of poverty by 2050 and generate a US$1.5 trillion increase in global GDP by 2030. UN Women is calling for renewed commitments at the UN General Assembly, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration.

On September 12, 2025, Fitch Ratings downgraded France's credit score from "AA-" to "A+", citing political instability and projections that public debt will rise to 121% of GDP by 2027, increasing pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron and new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

The downgrade followed a period of political turmoil, including the ousting of former Prime Minister François Bayrou after his unpopular budget plan was rejected. Fitch stated that the instability had weakened France's ability to implement fiscal consolidation. The agency projected that the public deficit would not fall below 3% of GDP by 2029 as the previous government had hoped.

Fitch warned that rising public debt constrains the country's capacity to respond to new shocks. The agency expressed skepticism that the political impasse would be resolved before the 2027 presidential election, which would further limit opportunities for fiscal consolidation.

In response, Minister of Economics and Finance Eric Lombard acknowledged the decision while emphasizing the French economy's solidity. Economists noted that while France has a diversified economy and strong household savings, it is critical to break the political paralysis to pass a budget that reduces the deficit.

On September 8, 2025, French Prime Minister François Bayrou's government collapsed after the National Assembly rejected it in a confidence vote, deepening political paralysis and creating further uncertainty around a French financial crisis.

Bayrou initiated the special parliamentary session to address France's financial situation, asking lawmakers to formally agree on the need for an immediate reduction to the public deficit. The proposed austerity measures, which included freezing welfare payments and cutting national holidays, were rejected by a broad coalition of opposition parties, from far-right to far-left groups. Bayrou planned to negotiate the details of the cuts with unions and Parliament had the vote succeeded.

The government fell by a vote of 364 to 194. Following the vote, opposition leaders called for the dissolution of parliament or the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron, which he declined.

The day following the vote, Macron named Sébastien Lecornu prime minister, making him the 7^th prime minister to serve under Macron and the 5^th since 2022. Lecornu previously served as defense minister and has held roles in every government since 2017. Macron directed Lecornu to work with Parliament’s political parties to secure a national budget and build necessary political agreements for upcoming decisions.

The new government will face immediate pressure to pass the 2026 budget, amid scheduled nationwide protests and a potential credit rating downgrade. Proposed solutions to the budget deadlock include appointing a negotiator to secure a budget agreement, or forming a temporary government to last until the next presidential election.

On August 14, 2025, the resumed 5^th session of the INC-5.2 in Geneva, Switzerland, concluded without reaching a consensus on a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, though UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that all member states agreed to continue negotiations.

Negotiations to establish a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution concluded without an agreement. UN officials, including UNEP Executive Director Andersen and UN Secretary-General Guterres, acknowledged the outcome but emphasized that all countries remained committed to the process. The talks, which included delegates from 183 nations and representatives from over 400 CSOs faced significant differences on key issues.

The US delegation supported an agreement that allows for tailored, country-specific solutions to reduce plastic pollution while opposing prescriptive, top-down regulations. INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso and INC Executive Secretary Jyoti Mathur-Filipp reaffirmed their dedication to moving forward and achieving a future agreement.

On August 1, 2025, the French health ministry stated it could not legally intervene to stop the planned destruction of US$10 million in contraceptives held in Belgium, which were purchased by the USAID under former President Joe Biden and set to be destroyed by the administration of President Donald Trump, despite strong public outcry to intervene.

The US decision sparked criticism in France, with rights groups and left-wing politicians urging their government to halt the plan. France's health ministry, however, stated it had no legal basis to seize the products, as the products are not drugs of major therapeutic interest and no supply shortage exists in France. Multiple organizations, including MSI Reproductive Choices, offered to purchase the contraceptives at no cost to the US government, but their offers were rejected.

The contraceptives, mostly long-acting products like IUDs and birth control implants, were intended for countries in SSA and stored in Geel, Belgium. A US State Department spokesperson stated the decision to incinerate the unexpired products was based on the Mexico City Policy. The policy, reinstated in early 2025 by the Trump administration, prohibits providing assistance to NGOs that perform or promote abortions, though none of the products held in Belgium align with that description. The destruction was estimated by the US State Department to cost US$167,000.

On July 30, 2025, the UNDP and the French Senate launched a new partnership by signing a MoU in Geneva to strengthen democratic governance and parliamentary institutions worldwide.

The partnership will support parliaments by strengthening lawmaking, executive oversight, and inclusive citizen participation. The cooperation will also offer capacity-building, peer learning, and tailored support for parliaments in political transition or decentralization, as well as assistance for thematic needs such as climate action and digital capacities. The initiative builds on a 2005 cooperation framework and leverages the UNDP's experience supporting 65 parliaments.

Vice-President of the French Senate Loïc Hervé emphasized that the collaboration will promote good governance by strengthening parliamentary capacities. UNDP Assistant Administrator Susan Brown stated that strengthening parliamentary capacity is essential to build trust in institutions and that the partnership will increase the support her organization can offer to parliaments. The signing was held at the French Permanent Mission in the presence of Ambassador Céline Jurgensen.

On July 23, 2025, France's AFD and partners launched the EUR 11 million (US$13 million) second phase of the SAQIRH project, which will continue to support 19 primary healthcare centers across Lebanon amid the country's ongoing crises.

The project, funded by France through the AFD and implemented by PUI, AMEL, builds on the first phase of the program. Since 2020, the SAQIRH program has delivered over one million primary healthcare services to Lebanese and refugee communities.

The second phase will continue to provide consultations, medications, and diagnostic services while also strengthening the health system. Key objectives include to:

• Strengthen accreditation processes for PHCCs;
• Expand training opportunities for healthcare professionals;
• Improve supply chain management; and
• Integrate mental health and psychosocial support services into primary care.