French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu unveils his new cabinet at the Hôtel de Matignon amid France's deepening political crisis. Image: The Guardian.
(The Post News)– French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu unveiled his new government on Sunday night, only two nights after his reappointment, to end France’s latest political crisis and submit a delayed national budget.
A Delicate Balancing Act
Along with them are people who hold onto their posts, like Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, Budget Minister Amélie de Montchalin, and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, all heavy hitters in President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist faction. Roland Lescure, a close Macron ally, also clings to the Economy and Finance Minister position, tasked with drawing up a 2026 budget that will lower France’s out-of-control deficit while soothing skittish markets.
The French prime minister must present his budget plan on Monday and lay out the policy goals of his administration to parliament later this week.
The most dramatic changes are that conservative François Bayrou-era stalwart Catherine Vautrin is appointed Defence Minister, and Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez, tasked with 2024 Olympics security, becomes Interior Minister in the place of Republican leader Bruno Retailleau. Former French railway chief Jean-Pierre Farandou is appointed labor minister, and civil servant Édouard Geffray replaces former Premier Élisabeth Borne as education minister.
However, the appointment of several conservatives has already brought some turmoil: Les Républicains party issued a statement Sunday evening that it would exclude six members who accepted jobs in Lecornu’s government, confirming it had chosen not to be included in the new cabinet.
The far-right National Rally and far-left France Unbowed party both quickly announced they will table no-confidence motions against the government on Monday. Together, their party groups control more than a third of National Assembly seats, enough to trigger a precarious showdown later in the week.
The Socialist Party, which Lecornu needs to survive, has taken its time to make a judgment. “No comment,” Socialist leader Olivier Faure tweeted on X, reflecting party dissension.
French PM’s Appeal for Unity
In a statement on X, Lecornu said, “A mission-led government has been charged with providing France with a budget by the end of the year. There is only one thing that matters: the interests of the country.” He said the new government was made up of “women and men committed freely to this government, above personal and partisan interests.”
Additionally, the French told La Tribune Dimanche that he would once again resign if “the conditions were no longer met,” underlining the fragility of his mandate.
Élysée Palace has confirmed that the French government was finalized before his visit to Egypt, where he will attend an international event marking the Gaza ceasefire. The budget bill should be ready by Wednesday, on France’s constitutional timetable.
With Macron’s presidency under threat and parliamentary backing fragmented, Lecornu has the Herculean task of steadying a country fatigued by political turmoil. Whether this second attempt at a government will be more lasting than the first or merely delay another collapse remains to be seen.
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