Macron Reappoints Lecornu Amid Political Turmoil; Budget Deadline Looms
PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron has moved to halt the nation’s spiraling political crisis by reappointing Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister, just four days after the premier had dramatically tendered his resignation. The highly unusual move, announced late Friday by the Élysée Palace, underscores the profound difficulty Macron faces in governing a deeply fractured parliament and highlights the urgent need to pass a critical national budget by the end of the year.
Mr. Lecornu, a loyal centrist ally and former Defense Minister, accepted the new mandate out of “duty,” stating his mission was to “do everything to give France a budget by the end of the year and respond to the daily problems of our compatriots.” His reappointment follows days of intense, failed negotiations between the President and opposition leaders, who were reportedly frustrated by Macron’s perceived refusal to broaden the government’s political base.
A Crisis of Instability
The political chaos is rooted in the inconclusive snap elections of July 2024, which left Macron’s Renaissance party without an absolute majority in the National Assembly. This gridlock has resulted in a succession of short-lived governments, with Mr. Lecornu himself becoming the third Prime Minister to resign in less than a year. His departure on Monday, barely 14 hours after naming a new, largely centrist cabinet—was triggered by the immediate withdrawal of support from key moderate conservative allies who demanded a “profound break” from past policies.
Opposition parties, ranging from the far-right National Rally to the far-left France Unbowed, have seized on the instability. Upon Lecornu’s return, Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, labeled the reappointment a “bad joke” and vowed to back an immediate vote of no-confidence in the new government. Critics argue that recycling the same prime minister is a sign of Macron’s rigidity and his unwillingness to genuinely compromise with the fractured legislature.
The Budgetary Imperative
At the heart of the current crisis is the challenging national budget, which must be agreed upon within weeks. France faces significant economic pressures, with public debt exceeding 114% of GDP. Passing an austerity-focused budget aimed at reining in the deficit has become a “politically climbing the Himalayas” task, according to previous assessments.
Without a parliamentary majority, Mr. Lecornu’s administration is forced to rely on seeking fragile, temporary compromises or, controversially, employing Article 49.3 of the French Constitution, a mechanism that allows the government to bypass a parliamentary vote on financial bills, which inevitably triggers a no-confidence motion. The need for fiscal stability is being closely monitored by European Union officials and financial markets, who see the ongoing political deadlock as a threat to economic confidence.
Lecornu has promised that anyone joining his new cabinet must renounce presidential ambitions for 2027, signaling an attempt to create a government focused purely on the immediate task of national governance. Nevertheless, analysts view the reappointment as a high-stakes gamble by President Macron, designed to regain control and impose stability, a move that may, paradoxically, deepen the political divide he is attempting to heal. The premier must now race to assemble a consensus-driven government capable of surviving a confidence vote and tackling the nation’s critical financial path.
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