Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Wednesday, August 27, warned that snap legislative polls would not help restore stability in France, after calling a Parliament confidence vote in less than two weeks he is widely expected to lose.
Bayrou told TF1 television in an interview that he "did not believe" dissolving the National Assembly and calling snap elections "would allow us to have stability".
Bayrou has called the confidence vote in his minority government for September 8, bringing to a head a months-long standoff with opposition parties over the budget.
With both the far-right and left-wing parties vowing not to back the government, analysts say that Bayrou has mathematically little chance of surviving without a major political turnaround.
Bayrou is due to host heads of political parties from Monday for last-ditch talks over the budget, which foresees some 43.8 billion euros ($51 billion) of cost-savings rejected by the opposition.
The French Prime Minister told TF1 he is ready to "open all necessary negotiations" with the opposition on the budget but "the prerequisite is that we agree on the importance of the effort" on the savings to be made.
If Bayrou loses the no-confidence vote he and the government would be obliged to resign.
President Emmanuel Macron could reappoint him, select a new figure or call early elections to break the political deadlock that has dogged France for over a year.
"The economic situation is worsening every year in an intolerable way," said Bayrou, warning that the young will be the victims "if we create chaos".