French PM Lecornu under immediate pressure ahead of budget deadline

11/10/2025 17:05

Sebastien Lecornu began his second stint as French prime minister under a cloud of uncertainty on Saturday, forced to pick a new cabinet to present a budget by a Monday deadline as rivals pledged to topple his government.



French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed his staunch supporter late on Friday, just days after Lecornu had resigned from the post, saying there was no way to form a government capable of passing a slimmed-down 2026 budget through a deeply divided parliament.



Lecornu's 27 days in office made him the shortest serving prime minister in modern French history, but there is no guarantee he will last any longer this time round.



Macron's decision to reappoint Lecornu enraged some of his fiercest opponents who have argued the only way out of France's worst political crisis in decades is for the president to call fresh legislative elections or resign. Leftist, hard-left and far-right parties all said they would vote to topple Lecornu, leaving him reliant on the Socialists, whose leaders have so far kept mum on their plans.