PARIS (AP) — After a week of intense political turmoil, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to appoint a new prime minister Friday in his latest bid to break the political deadlock that has gripped the country for more than a year, as France struggles with mounting economic challenges and ballooning debt.

The appointment is widely seen as the president’s last chance to revive his second term, which runs until 2027. With no majority in the National Assembly to push through his agenda, Macron faces increasingly fierce criticism, even from within his own camp, and has little room to maneuver.

Outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu abruptly resigned Monday, only hours after unveiling a new Cabinet that drew opposition from a key coalition partner. The shock resignation prompted calls for Macron to step down or dissolve parliament again. But they remained unanswered, with the president instead announcing on Wednesday that he would name a successor to Lecornu within 48 hours.

Political party leaders who met for more than two hours with Macron, at his request, on Friday emerged from the talks saying they weren’t certain what step the French leader would take next and that if he does name a prime minister, who it would be. Some cautioned that another prime minister picked from the ranks of Macron’s fragile centrist camp risks being disavowed by Parliament’s powerful lower house, prolonging the crisis.

“How can one expect that all this will end well?” said Marine Tondelier, leader of The Ecologists party. “The impression we get is that the more alone he is, the more rigid he becomes.”

Worried investors

Over the past year, Macron’s successive minority governments have collapsed in quick succession, leaving the European Union’s second-largest economy mired in political paralysis as France is faced with a debt crisis. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, France’s public debt stood at 3.346 trillion euros ($3.9 trillion), or 114% of gross domestic product.

France’s poverty rate also reached 15.4% in 2023, its highest level since records began in 1996, according to the latest data available from the national statistics institute.

The economic and political struggles are worrying financial markets, ratings agencies and the European Commission, which has been pushing France to comply with EU rules limiting debt.

Uncertainty surrounds the choice of the next PM

Macron, a centrist, could break with his habit and pick a figure from the left, which formed a coalition in the 2024 legislative elections. But left-wing opposition leaders said after the talks with Macron that he doesn’t appear to be leaning in that direction.

The two biggest opposition parties in the National Assembly — the far-right National Rally and the far-left France Unbowed party — weren’t invited to the discussions. The National Rally wants Macron to hold fresh legislative elections and France Unbowed wants him to resign.

Macron could also opt for a technocratic government in an attempt to sidestep partisan deadlock. He also has the option of re-appointing Lecornu, who has said that he’s not seeking the job but who remains a loyal ally and spent weeks before his resignation trying to build consensus around a budget.

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Lecornu argued earlier this week that Macron’s centrist bloc, its allies, and parts of the opposition could still clump together into a working government. “There’s a majority that can govern,” he said. “I feel that a path is still possible. It is difficult.”

In any case, the new prime minister will have to seek compromises to avoid an immediate vote of no confidence and may even be forced to abandon an extremely unpopular pension reform that was one of Macron’s signature policies in his second presidential term. Rammed through parliament without a vote in 2023 despite mass protests, it gradually raises the retirement age from 62 to 64. Opposition parties want it to be scrapped.

The political deadlock stems from Macron’s shock decision in June 2024 to dissolve the National Assembly. The snap elections produced a hung parliament, with no bloc able to command a majority in the 577-seat chamber. The gridlock has unnerved investors, infuriated voters, and stalled efforts to curb France’s spiraling deficit and public debt.

Without stable support, Macron’s governments have stumbled from one crisis to the next, collapsing as they sought backing for unpopular spending cuts. Lecornu’s resignation, just 14 hours after announcing his Cabinet, underscored the fragility of the president’s coalition amid deep political and personal rivalries.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drone and missile strikes wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential buildings and caused blackouts across swaths of Ukraine early Friday, authorities said. A child also was killed in separate attacks in the southeast of the country.

In the heart of the Ukrainian capital, rescue crews pulled more than 20 people out of a 17-story apartment building as flames engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five people were hospitalized, while others received first aid at the scene, authorities said.

“Everyone was sleeping and suddenly there was such a sharp sound; it was clear that something was flying. I managed to pull the blanket over my head, and then the strike hit — it blew out the windows, and the glass flew almost all the way to the door,” 61-year-old resident Tetiana Lemishevska told The Associated Press.

“The fire was on the sixth or seventh floor at first, and the flames went up quickly and spread to other floors. So all the people who could left the building without knowing how it would end,” she said.

The Russian strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepared for falling winter temperatures, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko also described the attack as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, reported power outages in Kyiv and the wider region, as well as in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy regions.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that Friday’s attack knocked out power on both sides of the city, divided by the Dnipro River, while Ukraine’s biggest electricity operator, DTEK, said that repair work was already underway on multiple damaged thermal plants.

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday said the strikes had targeted energy facilities supplying Ukraine’s military. It did not give details of those facilities, but said Russian forces used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and strike drones against them.

The energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia launched its all-out invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Each year, Russia has tried to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before the bitter winter season, apparently hoping to erode public morale. Ukraine’s winter temperatures run from late October through March, with January and February the coldest months.

Ukraine’s air force said Friday that the latest Russian barrage included 465 strike and decoy drones, as well as 32 missiles of various types. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 405 drones and 15 missiles, it said.

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In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, residential areas and energy sites were pounded with attack drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing a 7-year-old boy and wounding his parents and others, military administration officials said. A hydroelectric plant in the area was taken offline as a precaution, they said.

Associated Press journalist Vasilisa Stepanenko contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

By SAMY MAGDY and LEE KEATH

CAIRO (AP) — Bombardment stopped and Israeli troops pulled back in Gaza on Friday under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But will the agreement lead, as U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed, to “a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace”?

It took pressure on Israel and Hamas from the United States, Arab countries and Turkey, each saying it was time to end a two-year war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, sparked other conflicts around the region and increasingly isolated Israel.

That push sealed an agreement on a first phase that is to free the remaining living Israeli hostages within days in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

But it left unanswered a long list of questions over what happens next.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel wants to ensure that Hamas disarms. Hamas wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza and is not allowed to restart the war. At the same time, a postwar government for Gaza must be worked out to replace Hamas’ rule. Without that, reconstruction is unlikely, leaving Gaza’s more than 2 million people in continued misery.

With no trust between the sides, much relies on continued pressure from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. Any hitch in working out those intertwined issues could unravel everything and potentially lead to Israel resuming its campaign to destroy Hamas.

Here is what we know about the deal.

The first steps begin

The ceasefire came into effect at noon Friday. The Israeli military said it had pulled back its troops to lines inside Gaza agreed on for the first day, withdrawing from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza’s far north and the wide strip along Gaza’s border with Israel.

The military said Palestinians displaced to the south would be able to move back to their homes in the north. Thousands were already filling roads heading north.

By Monday, Hamas is to release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive. Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinians, including several hundred serving prison sentences and others seized from Gaza during the war. Hamas also will hand over the remains of around 28 hostages believed to have died, though for logistical reasons that may take longer.

At the same time, hundreds of aid trucks will start moving into Gaza.

Negotiations for the next phases would then begin.

Troop withdrawal

Hamas had long insisted it would not release its last hostages unless Israeli troops leave Gaza completely. After agreeing to free them first, Hamas says it is relying on guarantees from Trump that the full withdrawal will happen.

How long it will take — weeks, months, years — is unknown.

An initial 20-point plan issued by Trump last week called for Israel to maintain a narrow buffer zone within Gaza along their shared border, and Israel has also spoken of keeping hold of the Philadelphi corridor, a strip of land on Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Israel is unlikely to relinquish those areas unless Hamas disarms and the void left in running Gaza is filled by a body that Israel deems palatable.

Trump’s plan also called for an Arab-led international security force to move into Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy.

It is not known whether that system will be followed or an alternative will be negotiated.

Disarmament

Hamas long refused to give up its weapons, saying it had a right to armed resistance until Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories ends.

For Israel, disarmament is a key demand. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said its campaign will not end until Hamas’ military capabilities are dismantled, including the network of tunnels built around the territory.

There are signs, however, that Hamas could agree to a “decommissioning” of its offensive weapons, handing them over to a joint Palestinian-Egyptian committee, according to the Arab officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Future government

Israel has said it wants Gaza purged of Hamas influence. But it has also rejected giving any role to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority or any arrangement that could lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has agreed to step down from governing the territory and hand over governance to a body of Palestinian technocrats.

What takes its place is uncertain.

Under Trump’s plan, an international body will govern. The Council of Peace and Board of Peace have both been floated as names for the body.

It would hold most power while overseeing the administration of Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. It would also hold the commanding role of directing reconstruction in Gaza. Trump’s initial 20-point plan called for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lead the body.

Hamas has so far not agreed, saying Gaza’s government should be worked out among Palestinians.

The stakes

Israelis celebrated the agreement announced overnight after three days of talks in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. For much of the Israeli public, freeing the last of the hostages held for two years has been their top priority.

But Palestinians in Gaza were more uncertain. There was relief that the relentless bombardment and ground offensives may stop for a time and aid may flow in. But there was also skepticism and worry over how long any pause in fighting would last, whether hundreds of thousands will be able to return to their homes, and whether Gaza — its cities largely in ruins — will ever be rebuilt.

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Many Palestinians fear Israel will take any breakdown in the talks as a chance to resume its assault. For months, Netanyahu and his hard-line allies have insisted they will keep long-term direct security control over Gaza and have spoken of pushing out its Palestinian population, ostensibly on a “voluntary” basis. In Gaza, many believe that remains Israel’s objective.

Pressure from the U.S. and its allies — if it continues after hostages are out — could prevent Israel from relaunching a full-fledged war.

But there is another, murkier scenario.

If Hamas and Israel cannot reach a final deal or negotiations drag on inconclusively, Gaza could slide into an unstable limbo, with Israeli troops still holding parts of it and Hamas still active. In that case, Israel would be unlikely to allow significant reconstruction, leaving Gaza’s population languishing in tent camps or shelters.

By LORNE COOK

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO will hold its major annual nuclear exercise next week, the alliance’s chief announced Friday, with an important part of the drill to focus on protecting the weapons before they’re ever used.

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The long-planned “Steadfast Noon” exercise, which starts on Monday, is taking place amid heightened security around military facilities in Europe due to a series of mysterious drone incidents, some of them blamed on Russia.

Steadfast Noon will run for about two weeks. It will be led by the Netherlands and involve 71 aircraft from 14 NATO countries. The exercise has been held at roughly the same time each year for over a decade.

“We need to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as secure, and as effective as possible,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a video statement.

“It also sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats,” he said.

Bomber aircraft and fighter jets that can carry nuclear warheads are taking part, but no nuclear weapons or live munitions will be used. The bulk of the exercise is being held in the North Sea, far from Russia and Ukraine.

It will involve military bases in Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands.

The United States and Britain, with their nuclear forces, are key to NATO’s strategic deterrence. France also has nuclear weapons but is not a part of the organization’s nuclear planning group.

NATO officials would not say what kind of scenarios will be used to test the 32-nation alliance’s nuclear readiness, but they insisted that it is not directed toward any particular country, nor does it relate to current international events.

The United States is providing F-35 jets capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons, refueling planes and other support aircraft. Finland and Poland are sending fighter jets. Electronic warfare equipment and reconnaissance and intelligence systems will also be used.

A big part of the exercise will focus on protecting nuclear weapons on the ground, said Col. Daniel Bunch, Chief of NATO Nuclear Operations at the alliance’s military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

Bunch said there are “a variety of different threats that we assess and that we must defend against because these are highly protected assets that require the utmost security and safety.”

Asked whether drones are a particular concern given the recent incidents, notably near military facilities in Belgium and Denmark, he said: “Drones are not a new threat to us. Drones are something we understand.”

“The more frequent incursions are something we’re obviously keeping an eye on,” Bunch acknowledged, but he added: “Ultimately, we’re going to stay one step ahead of the adversary.”

The Washington Summit declaration agreed by the alliance’s leaders last year states that “the fundamental purpose of NATO’s nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression.”

“As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance,” it said.

James Stokes, the head of NATO’s Nuclear Policy Directorate told reporters that despite the Kremlin’s continued and heated rhetoric the allies “haven’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture” recently.

He underlined that Russia is not a focus of the exercise, but said that NATO continues to monitor Russian military activities, including its use of dual-capable missiles in Ukraine, which could be fitted to carry nuclear warheads.