Macron Reappoints Lecornu as France’s Prime Minister

President Emmanuel Macron is trying to calm the political turmoil that has gripped the country and jeopardized the passage of a budget.

President Emmanuel Macron of France reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as the country’s prime minister on Friday, less than a week after Mr. Lecornu resigned — a risky, whiplash-inducing move that could backfire as Mr. Macron tries to steady a roiling political crisis.

The president’s office said in a statement that Mr. Lecornu, a centrist and a close ally of Mr. Macron, had been tasked with forming a government, just days after his previous cabinet of centrists and conservatives imploded.

A new government formed by Mr. Lecornu would be France’s fourth in less than a year, a degree of governmental instability not seen since the founding of the country’s Fifth Republic in 1958.

And it was far from clear that Mr. Lecornu’s reappointment would do much to help the situation. Political opponents — outraged that Mr. Macron had once again appointed an ally — were already vowing on Friday to topple Mr. Lecornu with a no-confidence motion in the lower house of Parliament, known as the National Assembly.

Several left-wing parties and a far-right party declared immediately after the appointment was announced that they would support such a motion, bringing Mr. Lecornu dangerously close to the number of votes required to oust him.

Even some of the president’s allies had said that reverting back to Mr. Lecornu was a mistake that did not address the French people’s intense frustration with Mr. Macron, whose approval rating has reached new lows.

France has endured months of partisan gridlock in the National Assembly, leaving the country without stable governance, rattling financial markets, unsettling consumers and businesses, and jeopardizing the country’s ability to pass a budget by the end of the year, even as it faces a looming financial crisis.

“I accept — out of a sense of duty — the mission entrusted to me by the President of the Republic to do everything possible to give France a budget by the end of the year and to respond to the everyday problems faced by our fellow citizens,” Mr. Lecornu said on X.

He added: “We must put an end to this political crisis, which is exasperating the French people, and to this instability, which is damaging to France’s image and interests.”

Legally, nothing prevents Mr. Macron from reappointing Mr. Lecornu, who has been a member of every government since Mr. Macron was first elected in 2017.

Politically, however, the decision infuriated many of Mr. Macron’s opponents, who blame him for repeatedly refusing to appoint an opposition prime minister, even though his centrist alliance lost badly in snap elections over a year ago.

Since those elections, the National Assembly has been deadlocked among three main political blocs, none of which has a majority: a collection of left-wing parties; a mix of conservatives and centrists; and a nationalist, anti-immigrant far right led by the National Rally party.

Mr. Macron, who met with party leaders on Friday, has relied on a succession of unstable center-right minority governments, not heeding calls from left-wing parties who say they should have their chance at governing.

Jordan Bardella, the head of the far-right National Rally party, said on X that Mr. Macron was “more isolated and disconnected than ever.”

“The National Rally will, of course, immediately censure this futile alliance, whose sole raison d’être is fear of dissolution, i.e., of the people,” he added, referring to Mr. Macron’s ability to dissolve the National Assembly and call snap elections.

Mr. Lecornu’s departure, on Monday, had immediately increased the pressure on Mr. Macron. Some of his opponents argued that the only way to break the deadlock was to call new parliamentary elections — or even for Mr. Macron to resign.

But Mr. Macron quickly ruled out those options. Mr. Lecornu, after holding last-ditch talks with political parties at the president’s request, said on Wednesday that a majority of parties in the lower house did not want new elections and wanted to pass a budget before year’s end.

Mr. Macron appeared to be gambling that most parties, even those who said Mr. Lecornu’s appointment was a provocation, would compromise on a budget bill because they were too afraid of new elections, which polls predict would be dominated by the far right.

But that is a risky bet, and there remain major budget disagreements on what spending to cut and what taxes to raise. Mr. Macron’s 2023 pension overhaul, which raised the legal age of retirement to 64 from 62 and is still widely unpopular, is one of the biggest sticking points.

Left-wing parties were hoping that Mr. Macron would be open to suspending the measure, despite his extreme reluctance to see any part of his pro-business agenda rolled back. But the parties said after their meeting with Mr. Macron that he had suggested only that the overhaul’s full implementation could be delayed until after 2027, when France’s next presidential election will be held.

Mr. Lecornu said on Friday that “all the issues raised during the consultations held in recent days will be open to parliamentary debate,” although he did not specifically mention the pension overhaul.

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