Paris
Reuters
–
French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecorne, an intimate ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, has been named Roland Rescure as the finance minister for the new minister, whose last exiled government holds their posts.
Rescure, who rushed towards Macron’s back when he first took office in 2017, spent a short time within the Socialist Party early in his career. His appointment was widely viewed as a gesture to the left ahead of even more delicate cross-party budget negotiations.
Budget consultations become increasingly difficult and require subtle trade-offs between the three ideologically opposed blocks. Macron’s rule-centric minority, far right and left.
Le Corne’s two predecessors, François Bailloux and Michel Barnier, were overthrown by Parliament for their efforts to curb France’s public spending at a time when rating agencies and investors were closely watching the largest country’s deficit in the eurozone.
“This is Bayrou’s government without Bayrou and we will implement the same policy,” Left MP Eric Coquerel told BFM TV.
Former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maier, who oversaw France’s “anything that costs anything” response, has been appointed Minister of Defense. He now shapes France’s ideas about how Europe will strengthen Europe’s security as President Donald Trump demands more to support Ukraine.
“The choice of this identical government, seasoned with the man who bankrupted France, is pathetic,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen said in X, referring to France’s burgeoning deficit during Le Maia’s tenure in the Treasury. “We’re totally disappointed.”
Several key ministers remained in their posts, including Jean Noel Barott of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Leciro of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Gerald Dalman of the Ministry of Justice.
The 58-year-old Lescure faces a tough balancing act of preserving Macron’s professional business legacy and ensuring either support or abstain from socialists while still being conservative and liberal.
Considering that Franco-Canadian and former senior executives of Natixis Asset Management are ready to bring the government down once more, they need to be aware of the budget sensitivity on the far right.
To beat the socialists, Lecorne proposed a tax on wealth long-required by the left, while excluding the assets of business owners to protect businesses and jobs.
He also excluded the use of special constitutional powers to promote the budget through Congress without voting.
