PARIS – Emmanuel Macron on Friday reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister after he resigned on Monday, just hours after presenting the first members of his new cabinet.
It is now up to Lecornu to submit on Monday the controversial draft budget he had prepared and to form a government that lasts more than a few hours.
“I accept – out of duty – the mission entrusted to me by the President of the Republic to do everything possible to give France a budget by the end of the year and to address the everyday problems of our fellow citizens,” Sébastien Lecornu wrote on X.
Earlier in the day, the president had invited the leaders of France’s main political parties – except for the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) and the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) – to a meeting intended as “a moment of collective responsibility.”
France faces budget deadlock after PM’s resignation
PARIS – Following the resignation of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, France’s chances of adopting a…
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In a televised address on Thursday, Lecornu stressed that the goal of the budget proposal to be presented on Monday is to keep the state deficit between 4.7% and 5% in 2026, compared with 5.4% this year.
This is a smaller effort than the one recommended in mid-summer by then-Prime Minister François Bayrou, and one that could be challenged by the amendments opposition parties are sure to propose in the French parliament.
Beyond the budget, the government that Lecornu will form will have to strike a balance on a range of issues, starting with the thorny question of pensions.
The Socialist Party chief, Olivier Faure, said after the meeting with Macron that he had received no guarantees regarding the future developments on this issue. He also warned that his group would be ready to censure the government in case of disagreements.
“At the pace things are going, and given the conditions we’re in today, since we haven’t received any guarantees, there is no guarantee that we won’t move to censure,” said Faure.
The future Lecornu government will also have to withstand opposition from the conservative Les Républicains party.
Several times this week – and again on Friday in talks with Macron – the group, through outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, reiterated its opposition to the appointment of a minister from the presidential camp, which Lecornu is.
Far-right leader Jordan Bardella said his group would immediately move to censure the government.
