
French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed outgoing Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister, giving him the difficult task of trying to find consensus in a divided parliament and approve the 2026 budget.
Earlier on Monday, outgoing Prime Minister François Bayrou submitted his resignation, which Macron accepted. He was forced out after just nine months in office, incapacitated by his failure to fulfill a central promise, pushing forward an unpopular plan to ease France's growing deficit.
Before the confidence vote, Bayrou warned lawmakers that his dismissal would not solve the country's problems. "You have the power to overthrow the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality," he said. "Reality will remain ruthless: spending will continue to rise and the debt burden, already unbearable, will become heavier and more costly."
Lecornu now faces the dual challenge of getting France out of its financial mess while leading a government prepared for mass protests. Demonstrations and highway blockades across the country are scheduled for Wednesday, followed by a broader union-led strike on September 18.