The President’s decision Emmanuel Macron of France to appoint one generally unchanged cabinet It prompted an immediate reaction from opposition parties, undermining the chances of the Prime Minister, Sebastian Lekornou, to survive a week of decisive importance in parliament.
Most of the senior members of the cabinet of Prime Minister François Bairou were renamed their positions, in a clear continuation of Emmanuel Macron’s center political goals. The president did not repetition Eric Lobard as finance minister, but his replacement, Roland Leskir, is a close ally who previously led the industry portfolio.
Right -wing lead Marin Le Penn said in a social media post that Macron’s continuation was “deplorable” and leaves the party of the National Alarm. The Socialist Party, which has a possible vote at the National Assembly, reiterated warnings that it would support a proposal for the addition of Lecoros, unless he had a clear adjustment in the direction.
Lekornou, who rules without a majority in the National Assembly, is facing the same intractable problem that has sank the prime ministers of his two predecessors: the adoption of a budget through a split Parliament that will probably include non -popular cuts and increases in taxes required.
Bairou was forced to resign last month after losing his vote of confidence in his plan to reduce the deficit next year. In December last year, his predecessor, Michel Barnier, was also removed due to proposed budget cuts.
Lekornou will face a similar test this week, as opposition teams have stated that they will activate votes of censure as soon as he officially presented his political priorities in a speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The political and budgetary difficulties of Macron’s unfortunate bet in the elections last year have caused explosions of liquidation of French assets, increasing the country’s borrowing costs compared to his European counterparts.
The euro fell 0.2% to $ 1,1718 in the first transactions after Macron’s announcement amid widespread demand for the dollar.
The country’s performance premium against German debt – a key index of fiscal risk – has expanded to about 81 basis points from just 65 in August, before Bayrou announced that he would risk a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.
In addition to the highest borrowing costs, the new government must also face a deteriorating economic scene, as businesses and households are limiting costs and investments in the midst of uncertainty.
The Bayrou government has managed to approve a late 2025 budget in February, offering concessions to socialist legislators to persuade many of them to abstain from non -confidence votes.
However, the center -left party has finally turned against Bayrou and has since followed a tougher line in negotiations with Lecornu. Their demands include a slower pace of deficit reduction, the implementation of a property tax proposed by economist Gabriel Zucman and the cancellation of the 2023 Macron law to increase the retirement age.
In recent days, socialist party officials have stated that the proposed compromises of Lecornos are inadequate and will not prevent them from supporting a censure vote.
Macron and Lekornou’s choices for top positions in the new government did not indicate the change of direction demanded by opposition parties. Bruno Retaiyo remains at the Ministry of the Interior, Geral Darmann remains justice minister and former Prime Minister Elizabeth Born – who managed the reform of Macron’s pension system – maintained in education.
Amelie de Montsalen, who prepared the 2025 finance bill and Bairo’s plans, will also remain in place as a budget minister.
The only surprise is the return of Bruno Lemmer, who will take over the defense portfolio. But he served as Minister of Finance during the first seven years of Macron’s presidency and is closely linked to his basic policies.
“We have clarified it to the Prime Minister: whether it is a rupture with the past or censorship,” said Jordan Bardella, leader of the far -right national alarm, in a post on X. The new government “deals decisively with the continuity and absolutely nothing”.
Among the Lecornu Oil branches to opposition parties is the commitment not to use the constitutional tool known as Article 49.3 to bypass votes on financial bills in parliament.
While this can attract political parties in the short term, it means that his ministers will have to give legislators more ground to ensure the possibility of securing the majority to vote on the budget of 2026.
If the government is able to survive the test of censure votes this week, Lescure, the finance minister, will sink into the heart of budget negotiations in the coming weeks. The 58 -year -old is a close ally of Macron, having abandoned a career in finance to participate in the president’s first election campaign in 2017.
Leskir then won a seat at the National Assembly, where he was Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs throughout Macron’s first term. In 2022, he was appointed Minister of Industry, a position he held until the collapse of the Barnier government.
He has occasionally criticized Macron’s center -right allies and their proposals to combat immigration. Leskir has also stated that for a short time he held a member card in the Socialist Party in the 2000s to support Dominic Strauss-Kahn’s presidential candidacy.