The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has reappointed his centrist ally Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister – days after Lecornu dramatically resigned and his new government collapsed after only 14 hours.
Lecornu said he accepted returning to the role “out of duty” and would 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”.
He added: “We must put an end to this political crisis that is exasperating the French people and end this instability that is harming France’s image and its interests.”
The unprecedented move by Macron to reappoint Lecornu only days after officially accepting his resignation comes amid worsening political crisis in France.
In Macron’s centrist Renaissance party, the MP Shannon Seban said Lecornu’s return was crucial to ensure “stability” for France. The outgoing centrist education minister, Élisabeth Borne, said Lecornu could “build compromise for France”.
But it was seen by opposition parties as a sign that Macron, who has 18 months left until the end of his presidential term, refused to broaden the government to other political views that reflected the divided parliament.
Lecornu is now under pressure to quickly form a government of new faces with a range of political views, but this is looking increasingly difficult.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, wrote on social media that Lecornu’s reappointment was a “bad joke”, a “shame on democracy” and a “humiliation for the French people”. He said his party would back a vote of no-confidence in Lecornu at the soonest opportunity.
Parties on the left expressed surprise and criticism. The Socialist party said it had made “no deal” not to join a no-confidence vote in Leconru. “Incredible,” wrote the Green party leader, Marine Tondelier, of Lecornu’s appointment.
Macron is facing the worst domestic crisis since he first won the presidency in 2017. On Monday Lecornu dramatically resigned only 14 hours after he appointed a new government. He quit after facing fierce criticism from opposition parties that he was refusing to broaden the government to different political groups and viewpoints that reflected France’s divided parliament.
He resigned before he had even attended his first cabinet meeting or made his first policy speech to parliament. Weeks earlier, his predecessor François Bayrou was ousted over his proposed budget cuts.
Lecornu, 39, has previously served as defence minister and was known for his work on increasing French military spending. Last month, he became the third French prime minister in only one year as the country has lurched from one political crisis to another since Macron’s gamble on an inconclusive snap election last year.
The parliament remains divided between the three blocs: the left, the far right and the centre, with no clear majority. A budget for next year must be agreed within weeks, even though the political parties are at loggerheads and there has been no stable government for weeks.
The reappointment of Lecornu came at the end of a day of high drama in which several opposition parties were invited to the presidential palace for talks with Macron and many left saying they had not felt listened to. One attender said it was like “talking to a wall”.
Julien Aubert, a vice-president of the right’s Les Républicains, which had until now propped up Macron’s centrists in government, said: “Reappointing the same prime minister after such a circus is a provocation – the messaging is terrible.”
Others were more reconciliatory. Vincent Jeanbrun, the spokesperson for Les Républicains in parliament, said: “Reappointing Lecornu gives a chance for stability.”
Macron’s approval ratings have dropped to a historic low. Alain Minc, an essayist and commentator, told BFMTV Macron was now so unpopular, he was “politically radioactive”.
Lecornu must now attempt to appoint a government this weekend in time for a first cabinet meeting on Monday, in order to begin the lengthy process of getting parliamentary agreement on the 2026 budget.
France’s central bank chief, François Villeroy de Galhau, forecasts that the political uncertainty that France has seen in recent weeks would have an impact on business, consumer confidence and economic growth. “Uncertainty is … the number one enemy of growth,” he told RTL radio.
Under the French political system, the president, who is head of state and has authority on foreign policy and national security, directly appoints a prime minister as head of government to run domestic affairs.
