Macron appoints loyalist Sébastien Lecornu as new prime minister

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday appointed Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu as the new prime Mminister, replacing François Bayrou, in an effort to end a deepening political crisis ahead of planned nationwide protests.

According to an AFP report, citing the Élysée Palace, Macron has tasked Lecornu with “consulting the political forces represented in parliament with a view to adopting a national budget and securing essential agreements for decisions in the coming months.”

Bayrou resigned earlier in the day after suffering a decisive defeat in a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, a vote he had initiated himself. His ouster left the government in limbo and forced Macron to find a new head of government for the seventh time since taking office in 2017.

Despite a history of slow prime ministerial appointments, Macron acted within 24 hours this time, amid rising political and economic instability.

Lecornu, seen as a pragmatic operator and loyalist with no presidential ambitions of his own, now faces the immediate challenge of uniting a fractured parliament and avoiding snap elections.

“Emmanuel Macron is now in the front line to find a solution to the political crisis,” said the Liberation daily.

Bayrou shocked even his allies by calling a confidence vote in an attempt to break a deadlock over his austerity budget, which proposed nearly €44 billion ($52 billion) in spending cuts to address France’s mounting debt.

The move backfired, with 364 lawmakers in the National Assembly voting against the government and only 194 expressing confidence.

Bayrou was the sixth prime minister appointed by President Emmanuel Macron since 2017 — and the fifth since 2022. His predecessor, Michel Barnier, was similarly ousted by a no-confidence vote in December.

With inputs from agencies