Macron Renominates Sébastien Lecornu as France's Prime Minister Following A Period of Political Turmoil

Sébastien Lecornu portrait
The politician held the position for only under a month before his dramatic resignation last Monday

The French leader has called upon his former prime minister to return as the nation's premier just days after he left the post, triggering a stretch of political upheaval and political turmoil.

The president declared on Friday evening, following gathering all the main parties collectively at the Élysée Palace, excluding the representatives of the far right and far left.

The decision to reinstate him came as a surprise, as he declared on national TV just 48 hours prior that he was not “chasing the job” and his “mission is over”.

There is uncertainty whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to hit the ground running. The new prime minister faces a deadline on the start of the week to submit financial plans before lawmakers.

Governing Obstacles and Economic Pressures

The presidency announced the president had given him the duty of creating a administration, and those close to the president implied he had been given complete freedom to act.

The prime minister, who is one of Macron's closest allies, then published a detailed message on social media in which he accepted responsibly the mission given to him by the president, to strive to provide France with a budget by the year's conclusion and respond to the common issues of our countrymen.

Political divisions over how to bring down the country's public debt and cut the budget deficit have resulted in the fall of two of the past three prime ministers in the last year, so his task is immense.

The nation's debt recently was almost 114% of gross domestic product – the third highest in the eurozone – and this year's budget deficit is expected to amount to 5.4% of economic output.

Lecornu said that “no-one will be able to shirk” the imperative of repairing the nation's budget. In just a year and a half before the completion of his mandate, he warned that prospective ministers would have to set aside their presidential ambitions.

Governing Without a Majority

What makes it even harder for the prime minister is that he will face a show of support in a National Assembly where the president has no majority to support him. Macron's approval plummeted recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his support level on 14%.

The far-right leader of the National Rally party, which was not invited of the president's discussions with party leaders on the end of the week, said that Lecornu's reappointment, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the Élysée, is a misstep.

The National Rally would promptly introduce a motion of censure against a struggling administration, whose only reason for being was fear of an election, Bardella added.

Forming Coalitions

Lecornu at least knows the pitfalls in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already used time recently talking to factions that might participate in his administration.

On their own, the moderate factions cannot form a government, and there are disagreements within the right-leaning party who have assisted Macron's governments since he lost his majority in elections last year.

So Lecornu will seek left-wing parties for possible backing.

To gain leftist support, the president's advisors suggested the president was evaluating a pause to some aspects of his divisive pension reforms enacted last year which increased the pension age from 62 to 64.

That fell short of what left-wing leaders wanted, as they were expecting he would select a leader from their side. Olivier Faure of the leftist party commented without assurances, they would offer no support in a vote of confidence.

The Communist figure from the left-wing party said after meeting the president that the left wanted genuine reform, and a prime minister from the president's centrist camp would not be accepted by the citizens.

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier expressed shock the president had provided few concessions to the progressives, adding that outcomes would be negative.

Jeanette Petty
Jeanette Petty

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