Sebastien Lecornu, the loyalist picked by President Emmanuel Macron to be France’s fifth prime minister in two years, took office on a day of sprawling anti-government protests that underlined the depth of the country’s political crisis.
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Lecornu, a conservative Macron protégé who most recently served as his defence minister, arrived at midday on Wednesday at the prime minister’s residence, where he met former prime minister Francois Bayrou, who was ousted by parliament on Monday over plans to trim the country’s outsize deficit.
Lecornu may use his first speech to lay out how he will seek to reach consensus with an unruly parliament, split into three distinct ideological blocs, and pass a slimmed-down budget for next year.
He has to send a full draft of next year’s budget to parliament by October 7, although there is some wiggle room until October 13, after which lawmakers will run out of time to pass the budget by the year’s end.
Reactions to Lecornu’s appointment on Tuesday underscored the challenge he faces. Parties broadly agree on the need to slash France’s deficit, which reached 5.8 per cent of gross domestic product last year, but not on how to do it.
While the hard left said it would seek to topple Lecornu with an immediate no-confidence motion, the far-right National Rally (RN) signalled tentative willingness to work with him on the budget – as long as its budgetary demands are met.