Paris
—
French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecorne, despite accepting his resignation on Monday after his government collapsed overnight.
“The President of the Republic has appointed Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister and given him the responsibility of forming a government,” the Elysée Palace said in a statement on Friday.
“We must put an end to this political crisis that has infuriated the French people and to the instability that is damaging France’s image and national interests,” L’Ecornu wrote in a post on X outlining his thoughts on the government he would form.
His surprising choice capped a rollercoaster week in French politics.
Lecorne announced the formation of his government late Sunday, but was publicly criticized by the interior minister that night. On Monday morning, he submitted his resignation, which was accepted, before Macron reversed course and demanded that his replacement be quarterbacked in a 48-hour blitz of negotiations with his political opponents.
Despite these efforts, for Mr. Macron, the solution was apparently simple, like the dominoes of recent prime ministers.
The decision angered opponents.
Following the announcement, Jourdan Bardera, leader of the far-right National Rally party, slammed the decision in a post on X, calling it a “bad joke, a disgrace to democracy, and a humiliation to the French people.”
Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, who is currently out of politics pending an appeal over campaign finance fraud, called for an immediate vote to overthrow the currently unannounced Lecorne government and hold new elections in a post on X.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left French Fortitude party, ridiculed Lecornu’s reappointment, adding: “Macron can’t do anything other than Macron.”
France’s political paralysis over forming a government and passing a budget has drawn unfavorable comparisons with European countries such as Italy, which have a reputation for political instability.
Lecorne appears to have negotiated a safeguard against further political instability.
In an X post on Friday, he flagged an apparently agreed-upon compromise under which issues raised in talks with party leaders over the past few days would be subject to debate in parliament. In his second term, Macron has repeatedly forced legislation through parliament without a vote.
This is not particularly surprising. Ahead of last Sunday’s disastrous cabinet announcement, L’Ecornu had already given up on using this power to bypass the French parliament again.
However, Lecorne had one surprise.
“All ambitions are legitimate and useful, but those joining the government must commit to distancing themselves from presidential ambitions for 2027,” he wrote to X.
The move is also likely to exclude figures such as right-wing former interior minister Bruno Letailault, who is expected to run in 2027. Similarly, leaders of far-left and far-right parties will also be excluded from the government, perhaps unsurprising since if Le Pen’s appeal is successful, leaders of both parties, including Le Pen, are expected to oppose Macron’s centrist successor.
Lecorne has not yet announced his government, but final talks with the president on Friday took place with Macron’s center bloc and traditional left-right parties. The far left and far right were excluded from the discussion.
Lecorne faced widespread criticism during Sunday night’s cabinet selection. Amid the divided political climate in France, after pledging to break with the previous two prime ministers, he announced a cabinet selection that included more Macron supporters than the president’s first cabinet in 2017.
It took Lecorne nearly a month to name his first short-lived cabinet. Many people in France will be keeping an eye on his second choice of colleague.
