Caretaker French PM Lecornu: hopeful on budget, chance of snap election less likely

PARIS (Reuters) -Caretaker French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu struck a cautiously optimistic tone on Wednesday, saying a deal on the country's budget could eventually be reached, making the possibility of a snap election less likely. Lecornu's remarks came as he was set to wrap up talks on Wednesday with various parties and report back to President Emmanuel Macron on whether he had found a way to end France's worst political crisis in decades. "There is a willingness to have a budget for France before December 31 of this year," Lecornu told reporters after meetings on Tuesday with conservatives and centre-right parties, and before meeting the Socialist Party.