France's President Emmanuel Macron faced deepening pressure on Tuesday to hold a snap parliamentary election or even resign to end political chaos in the euro zone's second biggest economy that has forced the resignation of five prime ministers in less than two years.
The 47-year-old president, who was seen this week wandering alone beside the river Seine deep in thought, has repeatedly said he will see out his second term, which ends in 2027.
But resignation calls, long confined to the fringes, have entered the mainstream during one of the worst political crises since the 1958 creation of the Fifth Republic, France's current system of government.
On Tuesday, as Macron's outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu held last-ditch talks to form a new government, his first premier in 2017, Edouard Philippe, said it was time for a new president to break the deadlock.
"He must now address this dereliction of the state, take a decision commensurate with his function and, in my view, that's guaranteeing the continuity of our institutions by leaving in an orderly manner," he told RTL radio.
ALLIES ROUND ON MACRON
Philippe, whom polls show to be the best-placed candidate to lead the political center in a succession battle, was the second of Macron's former prime ministers to distance themselves from him in as many days.
Gabriel Attal, another erstwhile Macron loyalist, was blunt in his criticism. He was prime minister for a few months last year before Macron called a snap vote that delivered a hung parliament with three ideologically opposed blocs.
"Like many French people, I no longer understand the president's decisions," he said on the TF1 news channel, after Macron asked Lecornu, who had just tendered his resignation, to go back to opponents for last-gasp talks.
Lecornu, whose 14-hour-old administration was the shortest in modern French history, was given two days to find consensus.
He was set to hold talks on Tuesday with leaders of Macron's centrist alliance and conservatives - the so-called "common platform" - to see if they can agree on a new cabinet.
However, he will also need the Socialists on board to have the numbers needed to form a majority in the National Assembly - not least to pass a budget for next year.
'IT'S A MESS'
Lecornu's resignation was precipitated by the furious criticism over the composition of his government, announced on Sunday evening. Foes and allies alike said it represented continuity and not change.
Bruno Retailleau, head of the conservative Republicans party, said he did not want to see his party absorbed into a broad Macron-led alliance, but did not close the door on a return to government.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose National Rally party tops opinion polls, wants an early parliamentary election.
Markets have taken fright, with investors keeping a close eye on France's ability to cut a yawning budget deficit. French stocks fell 1.4% on Monday and the risk premium on French government bonds yields rose to a nine-month high on the crisis.
"It's a mess. It makes you sad," said Brigitte Gries, a 70-year-old pensioner in Paris.
"We're becoming a bit of a laughing stock around the world right now," taxi driver Soufiane Mansour said in the southern city of Montpellier. "We're a bit of a clown around the world and in Europe, unfortunately."
