Sebastien Lecornu: Reappointed French Prime Minister unveils new government cabinet

The French presidency has announced Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s new cabinet line-up, reappointing Roland Lescure, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, as finance minister.

Lecornu’s last government lasted just 14 hours and he is under pressure to urgently produce a budget and quell political turmoil that is scaring businesses and investors and staining the country’s image.

Lecornu had pledged to deliver a cabinet of “renewal and diversity,” but stuck with his previous picks for the three top posts including Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.

The most notable change to the ministerial picks was incoming Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, head of the Paris police, who replaces Bruno Retailleau, leader of the conservative Republicans party and who harbours his own presidential ambitions

Lecornu met with President Emmanuel Macron to hash out the list on Sunday evening, two days after his reappointment as prime minister and in the midst of France’s worst political crisis in decades.

He is under pressure to quickly present a budget to meet constitutional deadlines, with the president’s office saying the proposal must be ready by Wednesday to comply. Having a cabinet in place is a formal precondition for presenting a budget.

Lecornu resigned last week after just 27 days in office, when his cabinet picks angered members of his centre-right coalition.

He retakes the job under a cloud of uncertainty: the far-left has pledged to file a no-confidence vote on Monday, while the Socialists - who have the power to bring him down - are keeping their options open.

France has been mired in crisis for months as a series of minority governments struggle to pass deficit-reduction measures through a truculent parliament where many are already eyeing the race to succeed Macron in 2027.

Lecornu named Catherine Vautrin, a veteran of the centre-right, to replace himself as defense minister. She was previously labour minister in former prime minister Francois Bayrou’s government, and also served as a minister under former conservative president Jacques Chirac.

Nunez, the new interior minister, is a graduate of the elite École nationale d’administration, and has held key positions across the French security apparatus, including head of the domestic intelligence agency DGSI. Last year, he kept Paris safe during the Olympics.

with AP