President Emmanuel Macron Reappoints Lecornu as France's PM After Days of Unrest

Sébastien Lecornu portrait
Sébastien Lecornu held the position for merely under a month before his dramatic stepping down recently

President Emmanuel Macron has called upon his former prime minister to resume duties as French prime minister just days after he left the post, causing a stretch of political upheaval and instability.

Macron made the announcement towards the end of the week, shortly after gathering all the main parties collectively at the official residence, omitting the figures of the political extremes.

The decision to reinstate him was unexpected, as he said on national TV only two days ago that he was not “chasing the job” and his role had concluded.

It is not even certain whether he will be able to assemble a cabinet, but he will have to hit the ground running. Lecornu faces a deadline on the start of the week to submit financial plans before parliament.

Political Challenges and Budgetary Strains

Officials said the president had “tasked [Lecornu] with forming a government”, and his advisors suggested he had been given full authority to act.

The prime minister, who is one of a trusted associate, then released a long statement on an online platform in which he accepted as an obligation the assignment assigned by the president, to do everything to provide France with a budget by the December and tackle the common issues of our countrymen.

Political divisions over how to lower government borrowing and reduce the fiscal shortfall have led to the ouster of multiple premiers in the last year, so his task is immense.

The nation's debt recently was nearly 114 percent of gross domestic product – the third highest in the currency union – and this year's budget deficit is projected to reach over five percent of the economy.

Lecornu said that everyone must contribute the need of restoring France's public finances. In just a year and a half before the completion of his mandate, he advised that anyone joining his government would have to put on hold their presidential ambitions.

Leading Without Support

Adding to the difficulty for the prime minister is that he will face a parliamentary test in a parliament where the president has is short of votes to back him. Macron's approval plummeted recently, according to an Elabe poll that put his public backing on 14%.

The far-right leader of the far-right National Rally, which was left out of consultations with party leaders on the end of the week, commented that the prime minister's return, by a president “more than ever isolated and disconnected” at the presidential palace, is a poor decision.

They would promptly introduce a challenge against a failing government, whose sole purpose was dreading polls, he continued.

Seeking Support

The prime minister at least is aware of the challenges in his path as he tries to build a coalition, because he has already spent two days this week consulting parties that might support him.

Alone, the moderate factions lack a majority, and there are disagreements within the right-leaning party who have assisted Macron's governments since he failed to secure enough seats in recent polls.

So Lecornu will look to left-wing parties for possible backing.

In an attempt to court the left, Macron's team hinted the president was considering a delay to some aspects of his highly contentious retirement changes enacted last year which raised the retirement age from 62 up to 64.

The offer was inadequate of what left-wing leaders desired, as they were expecting he would choose a leader from their side. Olivier Faure of the Socialists stated “since we've not been given any guarantees, we won't give any guarantee” in a vote of confidence.

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

Environmental party head Marine Tondelier expressed shock Macron had offered the left almost nothing to the left, adding that the situation would deteriorate.

Brenda Ross
Brenda Ross

Tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and their societal impacts.