Politics in France: Sébastien Lecornu Reappointed to Matignon After Resignation, Drawing Reactions from French Political Class

Sébastien Lecornu has been reappointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron, just days after his surprise resignation. This decision, announced Friday evening, has drawn a mix of support from the presidential camp and severe criticism from the opposition, with immediate announcements of no-confidence motions. He accepts 'out of duty'. A week after his surprise resignation and 48 hours after conducting his consultation mission with various political forces, Sébastien Lecornu has been reappointed to the post of Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron. According to the presidential entourage, he will have 'carte blanche' to form his government, independently of presidential ambitions for 2027, as he stated Wednesday during his interview on France 2. The announcement, made just after 10 PM, was quickly welcomed by the presidential camp. The resigning Minister of National Education, Élisabeth Borne, congratulated Sébastien Lecornu and reiterated her 'wishes for success in facing the country's major challenges'. Catherine Vautrin, former Minister of Labor, for her part, assured that the Prime Minister had 'her full confidence to meet the expectations of the French people and restore the stability our country so desperately needs'. The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, 'acknowledged Sébastien Lecornu's reappointment to Matignon' and recalled that 'for weeks now, the National Assembly has been ready to fully play its role: debate, scrutinize, vote. Let's get to work. It's time!' Immediate Criticism from the Left On the left, reactions are distinctly more critical. The national secretary of the Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, denounced on X 'a country on the verge of a nervous breakdown'. Mathilde Panot, president of the LFI group in the National Assembly, denounced Macron's choice, stating that 'never will a president have wanted so much to govern through disgust and anger'. She announced the filing of a new 'immediate' no-confidence motion as well as an impeachment motion against the president. Manuel Bompard, national coordinator of LFI, lambasted Emmanuel Macron's 'ivory tower' on X, calling the appointment 'a new middle finger to the French people', while Jean-Luc Mélenchon quipped about 'each turn of the carousel' where 'the prize remains in the same place'. From the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel denounced an 'unacceptable choice' and considered Macron 'completely cut off from the people'. The Socialist Party also expressed its reservations. Olivier Faure, secretary general, assured that the PS had 'no deal' with Lecornu regarding a non-censure and that no 'assurance or guarantee' had been given. On the Right, the Threat of Censure Criticism also multiplied on the right. Éric Ciotti, president of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), simply wrote 'censure' on X. Jordan Bardella announced that the RN would 'immediately' censure this 'new, futureless arrangement, whose sole reason for being is the fear of dissolution'. The president of the National Rally believes that 'the Lecornu II government, appointed by an Emmanuel Macron more isolated and disconnected than ever at the Élysée, is a bad joke, a democratic shame, and a humiliation for the French people'. Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN deputies in the National Assembly, added: 'The maneuvers continue, censure, therefore, is imperative, and dissolution is more unavoidable than ever'. The Editorial Staff
With TF1