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PARIS (AP) — Newly-appointed French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faced the threat of a no-confidence vote on the first day he took office, amid widespread protests across France on Wednesday.
Lecornu, who replaced his predecessor François Bayrou to become France’s fourth prime minister in barely a year, has pledged to consult with all political forces and trade unions before forming his Cabinet.
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But his appointment was met with skepticism by French President Macron’s political rivals. It also came as thousands of protesters rallied across France for a day of nationwide action against Macron’s policies under the slogan “Block Everything.”
Far-left party France Unbowed announced Wednesday it would submit a censure motion against the former defense minister if the next government does not call a vote of confidence when parliamentary work resumes next month. Legislators toppled Bayrou and his government in a confidence vote on Monday, opening a new political crisis for Europe’s second-largest economy.
French politics have been in disarray since Macron called snap elections last year that produced a deeply fragmented legislature. Far-right and left-wing lawmakers hold over 320 seats at the National Assembly, while the centrists and allied conservatives hold 210.
Lecornu, a close ally of Macron, is faced with the task of addressing France’s budget difficulties, He does not have a majority to support him and will need to find compromises to stay in power.
Both the Socialists and Greens have expressed their disappointment at Lecornu’s appointment, and Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader whose National Rally party leads opinion polls, mocked his nomination. She suggested that the move would end up with another failure for Macron, who has named seven prime ministers since he was elected in 2017.
“The President is taking the final shot of Macronism, entrenched with his small circle of loyalists,” Le Pen said, predicting that Macron would soon be forced to call new snap elections to break the deadlock.
After meeting with his predecessor as he took office, Lecornu said he wanted to tell the “French people that we will get there.”
“We will also have to change, certainly be more creative, sometimes more technical, more serious in the way we work with the opposition parties,” Lecornu said after a traditional handover ceremony. “We will need significant breaks (with the past). And not just in form, not just in method, but also in substance.”
Drafting a budget will be a top priority for Lecornu, and normally a new prime minister would form the new government before negotiating the national spending in Parliament. However, Macron has asked Lecornu to consult with all of the political parties in Parliament first to try to agree on a budget before assembling his team.
