Meet Sébastien Lecornu, France’s new prime minister

Sébastien Lecornu has been named as the new French prime minister by President Emmanuel Macron.

The 37-year old is a close ally of Mr Macron and has been a minister of every cabinet since June 2017. He is the only politician to hold a role in all of the government’s since this date and was most recently Minister of the Armed Forces. 

Born in Val-d'Oise (Normandy), Mr Lecornu was formerly a member of the right-wing Les Républicains before joining the Macronist surge in 2017. He is a reserve lieutenant with the Gendarmerie, and is reportedly a keen hunter.

He has been in charge of several government schemes during the Macron presidency, including hunting reforms and the 'grand debates’ following the gilets jaunes protests.

The appointment was announced last night following the resignation of François Bayrou after he overwhelmingly lost a vote of confidence on Monday (September 8).

Mr Lecornu is the seventh prime minister appointed by Mr Macron, a joint record of the Fifth Republic.

He will officially take over the reins today after a meeting with Mr Bayrou before starting work to form a new government. 

This could take weeks as he looks to build a cohesive alliance that would be able to pass a budget at the end of the year and then hope to govern until the end of Mr Macron’s tenure in spring 2027.

His quick appointment – it took several months for Michel Barnier to be appointed following the 2024 legislative elections, and weeks for Bayrou after Mr Barnier was toppled in December 2024 – came a day ahead of the ‘bloquons tout’ national protest movements.

How long will the new PM last? 

Outside of the optimism of the new prime minister’s camp, there seems to be little question about his chances of success and more over how long he will survive in the position.

His appointment as a member of the current centrist and right-wing bloc fails to resolve the issue that the centrist bloc does not have a majority of MPs in the Assemblée nationale and cannot pass legislation – including an upcoming budget – without wider support from other parties. 

It means that the threat of a motion de censure or vote of no confidence hangs over the prime minister from his first day.

MPs could theoretically bring this forward as soon as parliament reconvenes in October (Monday’s vote was an extraordinary session and the chamber is still technically in recess). 

They only need an absolute majority (289 MPs) to vote against the prime minister to oust him. For context, 364 MPs voted against Mr Bayrou in Monday’s vote.

Forces on the far-left (La France Insoumise) and far-right (Rassemblement National) have criticised the choice to appoint a prime minister from within the president’s ranks without changing the political make-up of France. 

However, leader of the far-right party Jordan Bardella said the RN would “judge” the new prime minister “on his merits, actions, decisions and projects” before taking decisions on further action.

The RN party may be willing to work with the prime minister on creating a 2026 budget, however there are several ‘red lines’ it will not allow for. 

These include any tax rises for any group, including working people as well as the rich, and non-working pensioners, said RN MP Julien Odoul.

Negotiations on the budget will be taking place this autumn across the political spectrum.

The far-left party is bringing forward an impeachment case against Mr Macron, which has essentially no chance of passing but is another element adding to the political disorder.

For her part, far-right leader Marine Le Pen is calling for the Assemblée to be dissolved and new elections to be held. 

The Socialist Party announced this morning they would not immediately call for parliament to be dissolved, but that it is a possibility if common ground cannot be reached.

There had been reports that Mr Macron was considering appointing a left-wing prime minister in an attempt to bring the Socialists and Greens into the governmental fold and create a temporary ‘Republican alliance’ between non-extremist parties.

Mr Lecornu said last week any new government would need to find wider support from the left, and that he has experience “working with the republican left,” during his early career in local politics. 

However, to work with the Socialists, “"everything must be done to ensure that they distance themselves from La France Insoumise [the far-left],” he added.

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said the party would vote against the prime minister in a vote of no confidence "if nothing changes," in terms of policies, and that Socialists were unlikely to take any position in the government.

Greens leader Marine Tondelier called the announcement a “provocation” and the Socialist Party said Mr Macron had “taken the risk of legitimate social anger and institutional deadlock in the country.” 

If the Socialists and Greens agree with other parties to vote against the prime minister, he will be all but doomed. 

His only saving grace may be that all parties must vote on the same motion de censure, meaning either the far-left must vote in favour of a far-right motion, or vice versa. 

This could see opposition forces fail to agree on a single motion to topple the prime minister.