The composition of the new French government has been approved by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, with many "predecessors" retaining their positions. At the same time, the new cabinet has faced criticism from the opposition, which is emerging against the backdrop of tense negotiations regarding France's budget.
UNN reports with reference to The Guardian.
Details
Sébastien Lecornu is the seventh Prime Minister approved by French President Emmanuel Macron. The new head of the French cabinet has already submitted a list of candidates for his government to the head of state.
Seven representatives of the Bayrou government will continue their work. These include Jean-Noël Barrot at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Retailleau at the Ministry of Interior, and Gérald Darmanin at the Ministry of Justice.
The first major test for the 39-year-old Lecornu will be a speech on Tuesday, in which his political program is to be outlined. Meanwhile, budget negotiations in France itself are becoming increasingly tense. The situation requires delicate compromises between three ideologically opposed blocs – Macron's ruling centrist minority, the far-right, and the left.
Lecornu's two predecessors, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were dismissed by parliament due to efforts to curb France's public spending at a time when rating agencies and investors are closely monitoring the country's budget deficit, the largest in the eurozone.
Political opponents stated that Macron's latest cabinet is a continuation of past policies, an undesirable continuity, and against this backdrop, far-left parties stood out – they promise to submit a vote of no confidence.
Comments from French politicians regarding Macron's new government
We made it clear to the Prime Minister: it's either a break with the past or a vote of no confidence. The government announced this evening… that it is entirely dedicated to continuity and says absolutely nothing about a break with the past, which the French people demand
For the third time since the July 2024 elections, Emmanuel Macron is once again imposing on us a government of failures and a policy that was rejected in the elections
At the same time, tense negotiations regarding the budget of the Western European country continue.
Lecornu appointed Roland Lescure, a close ally of the president, as Minister of Finance. The latter spent a short time in the Socialist Party at the beginning of his career.
Representatives of the new government will have to balance, in connection with a number of tasks:
- it is important to secure the support of the socialists;
- preserve Macron's "pro-business" legacy;
- keep conservatives and liberals "on board";
- remember the budgetary issues of the far-right, given their willingness to try to overthrow the government again.
Add
Interesting fact: former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who led France's "whatever it takes" response to the Covid-19 pandemic, was appointed Minister of Defense.
Le Maire will shape French thinking on how Europe should strengthen European security, as US President Donald Trump demands that the European Union do more to support Ukraine.
Recall
On September 8, the French parliament, by a majority vote, supported a vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister François Bayrou.
French President Emmanuel Macron, "sharing Berlin's skepticism," is not particularly enthusiastic about the European Commission's plan for a "drone wall."