Emmanuel Macron reconducted Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister on October 10, 2025, four days after his resignation, to form a government focused on passing the 2026 budget. Lecornu promised a 'more free' executive without presidential candidates and open to debates on pension reform. Oppositions, including Les Républicains and the Socialist Party, rejected participation but threaten censure without concessions.
Sébastien Lecornu, reconducted at Matignon on Friday, October 10, 2025, by Emmanuel Macron, accepted the mission 'out of duty' despite his resignation the previous Monday. In an interview with La Tribune on Sunday, he stated he could announce his new government's composition on Monday or Tuesday, followed by a general policy declaration on Tuesday or Wednesday. He visited a police station in L'Haÿ-les-Roses in Val-de-Marne on Saturday, October 11, where he praised law enforcement and prioritized fighting incivilities and delinquency.
Lecornu set conditions with Macron: a government without potential 2027 presidential candidates, to focus on the budget urgency. 'If the conditions were no longer met, I would leave,' he warned. He expressed openness to 'all debates' on pension reform, demanded for suspension by the left, while defending past achievements.
Les Républicains, led by Bruno Retailleau, decided during a political bureau meeting on October 11 not to join the government but to support texts on a case-by-case basis to avoid dissolution. Laurent Wauquiez, LR deputies' leader, urged 'verbalizing support' to restore calm and pass a budget. The Socialist Party, through Olivier Faure and Pierre Jouvet, called the reconduction a 'total disconnection' and threatened censure without immediate suspension of pension reform. The Modem's Marc Fesneau declared readiness to 'engage fully' for stability.
The timeline is tight: the 2026 finance bill must be presented to the Council of Ministers by October 13 at the latest and deposited at the National Assembly on October 15, for a vote before December 31. An Ipsos poll for La Tribune shows Lecornu with 27% favorable opinions and 55% unfavorable.
