PARIS (BN24) — French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Friday, just four days after accepting his resignation, in a surprise move that immediately drew condemnation across the political spectrum and threats of a no-confidence vote.
Lecornu, thirty-nine, whose resignation was accepted Monday just weeks after he initially took office, is now tasked with forming a new cabinet, Macron’s office said in a statement. His return comes after the president and political parties held days of negotiations aimed at ending a political impasse that has paralyzed the country.
“I accept – out of duty – the mission entrusted to me by the President of the Republic to do everything possible to provide France with a budget by the end of the year and to address the daily life issues of our fellow citizens,” Lecornu wrote on X. “We must put an end to this political crisis that exasperates the French people and to this instability that is harmful to France’s image and its interests.”
The reappointment represents the latest dramatic twist in French politics after Macron’s gamble on snap elections last year ended in a hung Parliament and more seats for the far right, leaving the country politically deadlocked.
Macron, forty-seven, met with leaders of all political parties except the far-right National Rally and the far-left France Unbowed party earlier Friday at the presidential palace, according to informed sources. Shortly before the meeting, the presidency issued a statement calling on all parties to recognize the “moment of collective responsibility,” appearing to imply that Macron could dissolve the French Parliament if they did not rally behind his preferred candidate.
Following the meeting, party leaders expressed frustration that Macron was disconnected from their concerns and failed to understand their agenda items, suggesting the discussions had worsened rather than improved the situation.
Lecornu now faces formidable challenges as he must form another government and deliver the budget for two thousand twenty-six by Monday in accordance with the French constitution so that it can be voted on by a deeply fragmented Parliament before year’s end.
The difficulty in forming a government stems from the fact that many politicians, even those on the right who previously supported Macron, now refuse to join Lecornu’s cabinet, leaving him with a limited pool of potential ministers.
Lecornu had resigned Sunday after his proposed list of ministers sparked criticism from both right and left for containing too many familiar faces from the previous administration of former Prime Minister Francois Bayrou. First appointed just a month ago, Lecornu had come under increasing pressure as he struggled to pass a budget through the fractured French Parliament amid a debt crisis.
By naming Lecornu again, Macron risks the wrath of political rivals who have argued that the best way out of the country’s deepest political crisis in decades would be for Macron to either hold snap parliamentary elections or resign.
Politicians from across France’s political spectrum united in condemning the reappointment. The National Rally vowed to immediately seek to bring down the new French government led by Lecornu through a no-confidence motion in Parliament.
Labeling the move by an “isolated and disconnected” Macron a “bad joke,” National Rally leader Jordan Bardella said his party will “immediately of course censure this coalition which does not have any future.”
Francois Kalfon, a member of the Socialist Party, said his party’s skepticism grows daily. “We want something concrete on the pension reform. We are not afraid to return to the polls,” he stated.
Mathilde Panot, president of France Unbowed in the National Assembly, condemned the reappointment in sharp terms. “Never before has a president wanted so much to govern by disgust and anger. Lecornu, who resigned on Monday, was reappointed by Macron on Friday. Macron miserably postpones the inevitable: his departure,” Panot said.
Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, struck a different tone. “I note the reappointment of Sebastien Lecornu as Matignon,” she said, referring to the French prime minister’s residence. “For weeks now, the National Assembly has been in full working order, ready to play its role to the full: debating, scrutinizing and voting. Now it’s time to get down to work. It’s about time!”
The political crisis has deepened since Macron called snap elections hoping to consolidate power but instead produced a hung Parliament with no clear majority. The resulting deadlock has left France struggling to pass essential legislation, including a budget, while facing a mounting debt crisis.
Lecornu’s reappointment demonstrates that Macron has run out of options as he attempts to navigate France’s most severe political crisis in decades. The president faces mounting pressure from across the political spectrum, with some calling for his resignation and others demanding new parliamentary elections.
The immediate threat of a no-confidence motion means Lecornu’s second tenure as prime minister could be even shorter than his first if opposition parties unite to bring down his government. French politics remains unpredictable, with observers noting that everything has been so volatile that no one knows what to expect next.
