PARIS (AP) — France’s newly reappointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu appointed a new government on Sunday as he faces pressure to deliver an urgent budget and quell political unrest that is spooking businesses and investors and tarnishing the country’s image.
The Cabinet includes several familiar faces from previous governments, from French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp and conservative allies, as well as some people from outside the political sphere.
It is unclear how long this new team will last. Macron, whose term ends in 2027, does not have a majority in the deeply divided parliament and is losing support from his own ranks. Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen’s emerging far-right Rassemblement National party is calling for new elections, while the far-left France Unbowed party is calling for the president to resign.
Immediately after the President’s Office announced the new Cabinet, the conservative Republican Party announced that it would expel the six party members who had agreed to join the government.
Lecornu, a 39-year-old centrist and close ally of Macron, and his government must now seek compromises to avoid an immediate vote of no confidence in the National Assembly, which is deeply divided between far-right, centrist and left-wing camps.
The new appointments include a new defense minister, former labor minister Catherine Vautrin, who will assist oversee French military support to Ukraine and address threats to European security from Russia.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, who was in charge of security for the 2024 Olympics, will become interior minister in charge of national security. Roland Lescure will become finance minister, a crucial job as France tries to put together a budget that tackles rising debt and growing poverty.
Among those keeping their jobs is Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who is traveling with Macron to Egypt on Monday for an international ceremony marking the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Lecornu, France’s fourth prime minister in a year, appointed his first government a week ago – then resigned hours later amid protests from a key conservative coalition member. That sparked days of political uncertainty.
Macron convinced Lecornu to stay as prime minister and renamed him on Friday. Lecornu acknowledged on Saturday that there were not “many candidates” for his post – and that he might not stay in office long given the deep political divisions in the country.
Lecornu may be forced to abandon an unpopular pension reform that was among Macron’s key measures in his second term as president. The law was passed through parliament without a vote in 2023 despite mass protests and gradually increases the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. Opposition parties want to abolish it.
Macron’s shocking decision last year to dissolve the National Assembly led to a deadlock in parliament and political paralysis as the country faces a debt crisis that is worrying domestic companies, global financial markets and EU partners.
