Macron reappoints Lecornu as prime minister after days of turmoil

(Patria) - President Emmanuel Macron asked Sébastien Lecornu to return as French prime minister just four days after he resigned, sparking a week of high drama and political turmoil, the BBC reported late last night.

Macron announced this late on Friday, just hours after meeting with all major parties at the Élysée Palace, except for far-right and far-left leaders.

Lecornu's return comes as a surprise, as just two days ago he said he was not "chasing the job" and that his "mission was over." It is uncertain whether he will be able to form a government, but he will have to get to work immediately. The new prime minister faces a deadline of next Monday to present next year's budget to parliament.

The Élysée Palace stated that the president "tasked (Lecornu) with forming a government" and that Macron's entourage indicated he was given "carte blanche" to act.

Lecornu then issued a long statement on social media platform X, saying that "out of duty, I accepted the mission entrusted to me by the president, to do everything so that France gets a budget by the end of the year and responds to the daily problems of our fellow citizens."

Political divisions over how to reduce France's national debt and budget deficit have led to the fall of two of the last three prime ministers in the past year, so his challenge is enormous.

Lecornu is further hampered by the fact that he will face a confidence vote in the National Assembly, where Macron does not have a majority to support him.

The president's popularity fell to a record low this week, according to an Elabe poll, with his approval rating at just fourteen percent.
Lecornu said that "no one will be able to avoid" the need to restore France's public finances.

Just eighteen months before the end of Macron's presidency, he warned that anyone joining his government would have to postpone their presidential ambitions.