Macron reappointed Lecornu as France's prime minister four days after his resignation
He lasted less than a month as prime minister last time he was in office
French President Emmanuel Macron has reappointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who resigned four days ago, Bloomberg reports. Thus Macron gave his associate another chance to assemble a new cabinet and pass the budget for 2026 through a divided parliament, the agency notes.
The reappointment of Lecornu will be Macron's last attempt to avoid snap parliamentary elections, which would probably only increase political chaos in France, Bloomberg writes. The National Assembly has not yet approved the budget for 2026: its dissolution in such circumstances could plunge the EU's second-largest economy into even greater uncertainty, the Associated Press notes. An alternative to another dissolution of parliament could be the resignation of Macron himself, but the Elysee Palace rejected this option.
The new prime minister must present the budget on Monday in order for it to be passed before the end of the year as usual. Otherwise, parliament may have to pass a special bill to keep the government funded.
Lecornu, who is considered one of Macron's closest allies, was first appointed prime minister on Sept. 9. But he spent only 27 days as head of government. On October 5, Lecornu presented the composition of the cabinet, which was made up mostly of "veterans" of previous governments under Macron. The composition of the cabinet was widely criticized, and on October 6, the prime minister resigned.
The coalition supporting Macron lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly as early as 2022, making it difficult to advance presidential initiatives, DW wrote. In 2024, amid the success of the French right in the European Parliament elections, Macron announced early elections to the lower house. As a result, his supporters lost even more seats, while Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement Nationale strengthened its position. The minority government faces stiff opposition from the opposition on almost all issues: Le Pen has already said that her party will vote for the resignation of any prime minister proposed by Macron before new parliamentary elections are announced, DW noted.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
