French President Emmanuel Macron has reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister just four days after his resignation, amid France’s ongoing struggles to pass a budget that would remedy its debt issues.
Lecornu was previously prime minister for 26 days until resigning on 6 October. He resigned shortly after announcing his cabinet appointments, following heavy criticism from both allied and opposition parties.
“I accept — out of duty — the mission entrusted to me by the President of the Republic to do everything possible to provide France with a budget by the end of the year and to address the daily problems of our compatriots,” Lecornu wrote on Friday evening after his reappointment.
“We must put an end to this political crisis that is exasperating the French people and to this instability that is detrimental to France's image and its interests."
Right-wing party The Republicans have said they will not participate in Lecornu’s second government. France’s Socialist Party said it would seek to topple his government if it did not halt a 2023 plan to raise the retirement age.
The appointment of former finance minister Bruno Le Maire to Lecornu’s short-lived first cabinet as defence minister resulted in parties across the political spectrum threatening to vote down the cabinet, including Le Maire’s onetime party The Republicans.
Lecornu’s second attempt at forming a cabinet will not include Le Maire. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, Budget Minister Amélie de Montchalin, and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who have been in their posts for most of 2025, will stay on.
Lecornu is France’s fourth prime minister in just over a year. The country has struggled to pass a budget that would reduce its debt, with Lecornu’s predecessors Michael Barnier and François Bayrou being ousted over plans to cut public spending.
France’s debt was 113% of its gross domestic product last year, with a budget deficit of 5.8% of its GDP. This is well above European Union rules saying debt should not exceed 3% of a country’s GDP.
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