France unveils new government under PM Lecornu that might not last long

French President Emmanuel Macron named a new government on Sunday, putting together a team under Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who risks being toppled in a deeply divided parliament.

French politics has been in turmoil since President Emmanuel Macron gambled on snap elections last summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority. The move backfired, producing a parliament fractured between three rival blocs.

The new cabinet lineup was unveiled nearly a month after Lecornu’s appointment, with many key government members keeping their jobs.

Roland Lescure, a close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, was appointed finance minister in a new government led by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, the Elysee palace said on Sunday.

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Former finance minister Bruno Le Maire was appointed defence minister. Several key ministers remained in their post, including Jean-Noel Barrot at the foreign ministry, Bruno Retailleau at the interior ministry and Gerald Darmanin at the justice ministry.

But the life span of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s new minority government risks being short, facing hostility in Parliament where it lacks a stable majority. Macron’s opponents on the left of the National Assembly are mustering efforts to bring down Lecornu with a no-confidence vote, and the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen is pushing for snap legislative elections.

The immediate priority for 39-year-old Lecornu, a centrist and close ally of Macron, is to keep his job. Macron promoted Lecornu — previously the defense minister — last month as France’s fourth prime minister in a year, after his predecessor was ousted by the deeply divided parliament amid turmoil over spending cuts.

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The prolonged political instability is complicating French government efforts to tackle the country’s budget difficulties and weakening Macron’s position domestically as he wrestles with pressing international challenges, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the shifting priorities of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Lescure, who has a left-wing background, and his prime minister now faces the challenge of brokering a compromise on next year’s budget in a fractious parliament ahead of an year-end deadline.

Budget talks have grown increasingly fraught, requiring delicate trade-offs between three ideologically opposed blocs in a hung parliament.

Lecornu’s two predecessors were ousted over efforts to rein in France’s budget deficit — the largest in the euro zone — at a time when ratings agencies and investors are closely watching.

In a bid to win over the Socialists, Lecornu proposed a wealth tax long demanded by the left, while excluding business owners’ assets to shield companies and jobs.

Lecornu on Friday made a significant concession to opposition parties, pledging not to use a controversial constitutional mechanism that allows the government to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote.

The former armed forces minister has indicated a willingness to offer major budgetary concessions to the left-wing Socialist Party to secure their backing. However, he faces the delicate task of maintaining support from the conservative Les Républicains.

In recent days, Senate leader Bruno Retailleau had warned that his participation in the government was not guaranteed, demanding clear assurances regarding the new Cabinet’s economic and immigration policies. Lecornu’s overture is seen as an attempt to navigate France’s deeply divided parliament ahead of the annual budget debate.

With inputs from agencies