Back to the future as France's Macron reappoints Lecornu as PM

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Friday just days after he quit the job, a move that enraged some of the president’s fiercest political opponents who pledged to vote out the new government

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Friday just days after he quit the job, a move that enraged some of the president’s fiercest political opponents who pledged to vote out the new government.

Macron, 47, will hope loyalist Lecornu can draw enough support from a deeply divided parliament to pass a 2026 budget. Faced with France‘s worst political crisis in decades, many of Macron’s rivals have demanded he either call fresh parliamentary elections or resign.

The immediate reaction to Lecornu’s appointment from the far right and hard left was scathing, suggesting his second stint as prime minister will be no easier than his first, which ended on Monday when he resigned after just 27 days in office.

“The Lecornu II government, appointed by Emmanuel Macron who is more isolated and out of touch than ever at the Elysee Palace, is a bad joke, a democratic disgrace and a humiliation for the French people,” National Rally party president Jordan Bardella posted on X.

There was no immediate reaction from the leadership of the Socialists and the conservative Republicans, both of whom will be crucial to Lecornu’s survival.