Emmanuel Macron reconducted Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister on Friday evening, four days after his resignation, hoping to pass a 2026 budget without dissolving the Assembly. Lecornu, accepting 'out of duty', must form a government without presidential ambitions and reopen debates on key reforms like pensions. Left-wing and far-right oppositions already threaten censure.
Friday, October 10, 2025, was marked by intense activity at the Élysée Palace. Emmanuel Macron met party leaders at 2:30 p.m., excluding the Rassemblement National (RN) and La France Insoumise (LFI), to forge compromises and avoid dissolution. Senate President Gérard Larcher sent Macron a text at 12:50 p.m. protesting the senators' absence, securing a call from the president just before the meeting.
At 9:58 p.m., the Élysée announced Lecornu's reconduction, after his Monday resignation following just 14 hours of government, torpedoed by Les Républicains (LR). 'I accept - out of duty - the mission entrusted to me by the President of the Republic to do everything to give France a budget by the end of the year,' Lecornu reacted on X. Macron grants him 'carte blanche' for negotiations and appointments. Lecornu demands a government 'disconnected from presidential ambitions for 2027', excluding figures like Bruno Retailleau or Gérald Darmanin, and reopening parliamentary debates, including on pension reform.
Reactions poured in. Marine Le Pen (RN) decried a 'bad joke' and promised immediate censure: 'Dissolution is more than ever unavoidable.' Jordan Bardella called it an 'humiliation for the French.' Manuel Bompard (LFI) spoke of a 'slap in the face to the French,' announcing a no-confidence motion on Monday. The PS, via Pierre Jouvet, rejects any 'deal' without 'immediate and complete suspension' of pension reform. Marine Tondelier (EELV) sees a 'provocation.' On the right, a majority of LR deputies support Lecornu, but Horizons, Édouard Philippe's party, threatens to leave the government if concessions to the left on pensions.
This choice aims to stabilize the country before presenting the budget on Monday, October 13, but the government's survival remains uncertain amid a fragmented Assembly.
