Bayrou Out, Lecornu In - Macron Appoints New PM In 24 Hours

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron (47) appointed his new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu (39) , ex- Minister of the Armed Forces on September 9, a mere 24 hours after his previous PM François Bayrou (74) was ousted following a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, the lower house of French Parliament.

The rapidity of Emmanuel Macron's cabinet reshuffle this time is in stark contrast to his earlier re-shuffles that stretched on for weeks. A close ally of Macron with a stable presence in his government since 2017, Lecornu’s appointment did not come as a surprise.

The Élysée Palace explained that the new Prime Minister will be tasked with “consulting the parties with a view to building the agreements essential to the decisions of the coming months.” His mandate, according to a Presidential statement, will be guided by the defence of French independence and power, service to the people, and ensuring institutional stability for national unity.

This appointment also underscores the unprecedented political chaos of Macron's second term. Four prime ministers have already followed each other in rather quick succession since his 2022 re-election; Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier, whose premiership only lasted three months, the shortest on record for the Fifth Republic — and François Bayrou, who was removed after eight months in office. With Lecornu, Macron will have had seven government heads since his initial arrival in the Élysée in 2017. He has equalled erstwhile President Francois Mitterand’s record of having seven prime ministers over the course of two mandates.

Versatility and loyalty have characterised Lecornu's career. Formerly a member of the rightist Republican party, he has been secretary of state for ecological transition, minister for local authorities, minister for overseas territories, and minister of the armed forces since 2022. His defence portfolio has confirmed his European credibility especially since the war in Ukraine.

Domestically, though, his image is polarising. His supporters portray him as conciliatory and pragmatic, but his detractors criticise him as a Macron clone.

Reactions from the rival parties have been swift and unsparing. The Socialist Party, for example, had been hoping to see of one of its own in ``Matignon", the official residence of the French PM, in the aftermath of Bayrou's fall and deplored the new choice as proof of Macron remaining on a trajectory where “no Socialist shall set foot.” The extreme left party France Insoumise's Jean-Luc Mélenchon was more acerbic in his criticism, denouncing on social media, “a sad comedy of contempt for Parliament” and insisted on Macron’s resignation itself. As for the far right, Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally, branded the move as the "last shot at Macronism." She predicted that Lecornu's tenure in office was going to be short and joked that his successor “will be called Jordan Bardella,” her very own blue-eyed boy.

The 39-year-old PM’s first hurdle is the budget for 2026, that he must present before December 31, lest last year's crisis repeat itself, where Michel Barnier’s government was felled before finalising the procedure. Creating a majority in a fractured Assembly, divided into left, centre-right, and far-right blocs, will be the most daunting challenge.

For Macron, the risk is obvious. Having picked a loyalist, he has secured harmony for the Élysée and ``Matignon", but he has been accused of being tone deaf. Public opinion can still swing it. Lecornu does not enjoy unanimous popularity among voters and Macron himself has drastically lost credibility in the eyes of the French people.