{"id":2660,"date":"2025-09-10T00:36:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/macron-names-close-ally-sebastien-lecornu-as-new-french-pm\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T00:36:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:36:53","slug":"macron-names-close-ally-sebastien-lecornu-as-new-french-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/macron-names-close-ally-sebastien-lecornu-as-new-french-pm\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron names close ally Sebastien Lecornu as new French PM"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sebastien Lecornu, 39, is facing an uphill battle over budget as protests loom in the coming days.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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French President Emmanuel Macron has named his defence minister and close ally, Sebastien Lecornu, as the new prime minister after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou resigned <\/a>after losing a confidence vote.<\/p>\n

Lecornu, 39, the fifth prime minister in less than two years, has major challenges ahead, including resolving a deepening political crisis as protests loom in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President of the Republic has entrusted me with the task of building a government with a clear direction: the defence of our independence and power, the service of the French people, and political and institutional stability for the unity of the country,\u201d the incoming prime minister said.<\/p>\n

The French parliament \u2013 the National Assembly \u2013 on Monday voted to remove Bayrou over his proposed $51bn in budget cuts to address the country\u2019s debt crisis. The formal handover of power between Bayrou and Lecornu is due to take place on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Macron\u2019s decision to choose Lecornu, analysts say, is an indication that he intends to continue on with a minority government that supports his pro-business economic reform agenda. In the 577-member National Assembly, the left bloc, which has opposed Macron\u2019s pro-business policy, has most seats but not enough to form a government.<\/p>\n

The appointment of Lecornu, a one-time conservative, risks alienating France\u2019s centre-left Socialist Party, which leaves Macron\u2019s government depending on Marine Le Pen and the far-right National Rally for support in parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of Sebastien Lecornu\u2019s personal qualities, his nomination is a slap in the face of parliament,\u201d Philippe Brun, the Socialist lawmaker who has been in charge of budget negotiations, told Reuters.<\/p>\n

However, Jordan Bardella, seen as Le Pen\u2019s protege, seemed willing to give Lecornu a chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will judge, without illusion, the new prime minister on his merits,\u201d he said, adding that the party still kept strict \u201cred lines\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Political
[Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bayrou\u2019s downfall and France\u2019s instability<\/h2>\n

France, the European Union\u2019s second-biggest economy, seems on the brink of yet another period of instability.<\/p>\n

The immediate reason for Bayrou\u2019s fall was his budget proposal for next year<\/a>. His unpopular 44-billion-euro ($51bn) deficit-reduction plan, including freezing most welfare spending<\/a> and scrapping two public holidays, has been widely rejected by parliamentarians.<\/p>\n

The French budget deficit is now nearly 169 billion euros ($198bn), or 5.8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), well above the 3 percent limit set by the European Union for countries using the euro. Investors worry that France\u2019s persistent deficits will cause ever-higher debt ratios and undermine its credit score.<\/p>\n

Before Monday\u2019s vote, Bayrou warned lawmakers: \u201cYou have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality. Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prime minister\u2019s proposals came on top of Macron\u2019s unpopular 2023 move to raise France\u2019s retirement age<\/a>\u00a0by two years to 64. At the time, the president argued that excessive pension payments were a drag on the country\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n

Protests expected around France<\/h2>\n

As Macron grapples with the collapse of his fourth government in less than two years, French citizens are planning to take to the streets this week in \u201cBlock Everything\u201d protests.<\/p>\n

The movement, which lacks centralised leadership and planning, is threatening widespread disruption this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public authorities and the government have betrayed us so much that I\u2019m not sure they can really meet the expectations of the people,\u201d Louise Nechin, a left-wing activist in Paris, told Reuters.<\/p>\n

The protests have drawn comparisons with 2018\u2019s \u201cyellow vest\u201d demonstrations<\/a>, with protesters at the time setting fire to makeshift barricades and vehicles.<\/p>\n

The November 2018<\/a> protests, which began over planned hikes in diesel taxes, widened into an uprising against Macron\u2019<\/a>s policies and became the biggest challenge to his presidency at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/p>\n

Al Jazeera and news agencies<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sebastien Lecornu, 39, is facing an uphill battle over budget as protests loom in the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron has named his defence minister and close ally, Sebastien Lecornu, as the new prime minister after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou resigned after losing a confidence vote. Lecornu, 39, the fifth prime minister in less … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}