France's President Has Reappointed The Same Prime Minister As Prime Minister Again Days After He Resigned
Macron's decision has been widely criticized across the political spectrum.
In a new turn of events in France, French president Emmanuel Macron reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister again just four days after Lecornu had resigned.
Lecornu is seen as a close ally of Macron.
Macron had first appointed Lecornu, who is seen asas a close ally of him, as France’s prime minister on Sept. 9, a day after his predecessor, François Bayrou, was forced to resign after he lost a confidence vote in parliament after both the left and right voted against him over his plan for 2026 budget, which included major budget cuts.
On Sept. 10, a grassroots movement called “Bloquons Tout” or “Block Everything”, which had already been organizing against Bayrou’s budget, planned a massive nationwide civil disobedience during Lecornu’s inauguration.
More than 250,000 people across France took to the streets, holding a nationwide boycott, blocking roads, burning barricades and trash bins clashing with police to protest the budget cuts and calling for Macron to resign.
Despite the protests, Lecornu continued to serve as the prime minister and was planning to form a new government to stabilize the country.
On Sunday, Oct. 5 evening, Lecornu named his government’s ministers.
Despite Lecornu’s promises to “break” with the strategy of his unpopular predecessor, his ministers' lineup angered both his opposition and allies.
He chose many ministers who had served before in the government.
This made people and members of parliament angry, seeing that nothing has changed due to his decision to appoint the same people who didn’t help the country before, particularly Roland Lescure as economy minister and Bruno Le Maire as defense minister.
Faced with massive backlash, Lecornu presented his resignation on Monday, Oct. 6, just hours after naming his government, making it the shortest-lived government in modern French history, according to Reuters.
Macron accepted his resignation and asked Lecornu to continue in a caretaker role while attempting last-minute negotiations with political factions to stabilize the government.
Lecornu’s resignation sparked opposition calls for Macron to step down and a new election to be held, while leaving the country’s finances in limbo and sparking more chaos.
Shockingly, after days of discussions of all major political parties in France to end the country’s political turmoil, Macron announced on Friday, Oct. 10, that he is reappointing Lecornu as prime minister and gave him a deadline until Monday, Oct. 13, to form a new government and present the 2026 budget to Parliament.
Lecornu accepted the role, saying it is “out of duty.”
"We must put an end to this political crisis that exasperates the French people and to this instability that is harmful to France's image and its interests," he wrote on X.
Macron’s decision sparked anger from both the left and right politicians, with some calling it a “bad joke,” vowing to immediately challenge the government witha no-confidence vote, while others demanded early parliamentary elections, according to Al Jazeera.
Cherry Mohamed
Sofia Hou
