French President Macron has reappointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu days after his resignation

Today, Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron was reinstated Sebastian Lecornu As Prime Minister, a few days after his resignation, he is asked to try again to form a government and prepare a budget in an attempt to end the political stalemate in the country.

Lecorno’s reappointment came after days of intense negotiations and came less than a week later He resigned amid infighting In his new government. France faces mounting economic challenges and ballooning debts, and the political crisis exacerbates its problems and raises alarm bells throughout the European Union.

The appointment is widely seen as Macron’s last chance to revitalize his second term, which runs until 2027. Lacking a majority in the National Assembly to advance his agenda, Macron faces mounting criticism – including from within his own ranks – and has little room to manoeuvre.

Macron’s office issued a one-sentence statement late Friday night announcing the appointment, one month after the statement issued a month ago when Lecornu was initially named and four days after he resigned.

LeCorno said in a statement on social media that he accepted the new job offer out of “duty.” He said he had been given the task of “doing everything to give France a budget by the end of the year and responding to the daily problems of our citizens.”

Lecorno said that everyone who will join his new government will have to abandon their ambitions to run for president in 2027, adding that the new government “will embody innovation and diversity of skills.”

He wrote, “We must put an end to this political crisis that angers the French, and this instability that is bad for France’s image and interests.”

Lecorno resigned suddenly on Monday, just hours after unveiling a new government that sparked opposition from a key coalition partner. The sudden resignation sparked calls for Macron to step down or dissolve parliament again, as he did in June 2024. But they remained unanswered, with the president instead announcing on Wednesday that he would appoint a successor to Lecornu within 48 hours.

Political party leaders met for more than two hours on Friday with Macron at his request. Some have warned that choosing another prime minister from the ranks of Macron’s fragile centrist camp could risk being disavowed by the powerful lower house of parliament, prolonging the crisis.

“How can one expect that all this will end well?” “The impression we have is that the more lonely he is, the more hardened he becomes,” said Marin Töndeler, leader of the Ecologists Party.

Over the past year, successive minority governments led by Macron have collapsed in rapid succession, leaving the EU’s second-largest economy mired in political paralysis as France faces a debt crisis. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, French public debt reached 3.346 trillion euros ($3.9 trillion), or 114% of GDP.

France’s poverty rate will reach 15.4% in 2023, its highest level since records began in 1996, according to the latest data available from the National Institute of Statistics.

The economic and political conflicts are worrying financial markets, rating agencies and the European Commission, which is pressuring France to comply with EU rules limiting debt.

The National Assembly’s two largest opposition parties – the far-right National Rally and the far-left Insensitive France – were not invited to attend the debates on Friday. The National Rally party wants Macron to hold new legislative elections, and France Unbound calls on him to resign.

Lecornu said earlier this week that Macron’s centrist bloc, its allies and parts of the opposition could still come together in a working government. He added: “There is a majority that can rule.” “I feel like the road is still possible. It’s tough.”

Lecornu will now have to find compromises to avoid an immediate vote of no confidence, and may even have to abandon the hugely unpopular pension reform that was one of Macron’s signature policies in his second presidential term. After passing in Parliament without a vote in 2023 despite mass protests, it gradually raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. Opposition parties want to cancel it.

The political deadlock stems from Macron’s shock decision in June 2024 to dissolve the National Assembly. Early elections produced a hung parliament, with no bloc able to gain a majority in the 577-seat assembly. This stalemate has angered investors, enraged voters, and hampered efforts to rein in France’s spiraling deficits and public debt.

In the absence of stable support, Macron’s governments have stumbled from one crisis to another, collapsing as they sought support for unpopular spending cuts. Lecorno’s resignation, just 14 hours after announcing his government, highlighted the fragility of the president’s coalition amid deep political and personal rivalries.