France: New government in place, but problems remain

France has a new government with key portfolios remaining in the hands of the incumbents. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who has been brought back into office, is sticking with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin and the new Economics and Finance Minister Roland Lescure, who was only appointed a week ago, as the Élysée Palace announced in the evening. The previous Labor Minister Catherine Vautrin will become Defense Minister, the post previously held by Lecornu. Paris police prefect Laurent Nuñez becomes the new interior minister.

By forming a government under time pressure, Lecornu is not making the move to the left demanded by the left-wing camp. The government maintains a center-right profile, even though younger politicians are moving up in some ministries and experts from outside the political world have also been appointed. “An interim government will be appointed to present a budget for France before the end of the year,” Lecornu said. “Only one thing counts: the well-being of the country.”

The new government was actually expected to submit a budget draft to parliament on Monday – time for this is running out. If constitutional deadlines are not met, France could be left without an approved budget at the end of the year, which would put the financially struggling country under additional economic pressure.

But that would require a cabinet meeting. Because President Emmanuel Macron is traveling to Egypt for the Gaza summit, the first meeting of the new cabinet will not be organized until Tuesday.

The massive political crisis in France is far from over with the appointment of a government for the second time in a week and the return of the resigned Prime Minister Lecornu. Although Lecornu insisted on compromises for the good of the country in an extremely difficult situation during consultations with the parties, France’s left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) and the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) have already announced a motion of no confidence.

It remains to be seen whether Lecornu will survive the vote that could come his way this week. The Socialists only wanted to tolerate the new government if Lecornu made far-reaching concessions. The Conservatives declared that they would no longer participate in the government, but would support it with legislative proposals.

The conservative Républicains, once one of the two major parties in France, are facing a breaking point in the midst of the crisis. The previous conservative Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau triggered the Prime Minister’s resignation a week ago with threats to withdraw. The question of renewed participation in government then divided the party. As the newspaper Le Parisien reported, the Républicains immediately expelled from the party the six conservative ministers who decided to take part in the new government.