French President Macron appointed Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as the new prime minister on Tuesday (September 9). This right-wing politician, seen as Macron's closest ally, will officially take office at noon on the 10th. The appointment comes just a day after former Prime Minister Barnier stepped down and on the eve of nationwide protest actions.
According to AFP, 39-year-old Lecornu has held government positions since 2017 and was promoted to Minister of Defense last year, overseeing this sensitive department amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. His steady rise in political career has gradually made him one of Macron's most trusted confidants. This appointment makes him the seventh prime minister under Macron, and the fifth since he began his second term in 2022, indicating that the Fifth Republic, long known for its stability, is experiencing an unprecedented political crisis.
Elysée Palace stated in a statement that Macron has entrusted Lecornu with consultations with all political forces in parliament to push through the national budget and establish political agreements needed for decision-making in the coming months. However, leader of "La France Insoumise" Mélenchon criticized it as a "sad farce that disrespects the parliament" on social media and once again called on Macron to step down. He said: "Only Macron himself stepping down can end this mockery of the parliament, voters, and political dignity."
The authorities plan to deploy about 80,000 police and gendarmes to deal with hundreds of planned protest actions across the country. The protests are mainly fueled by the austerity measures proposed by Barnier this summer, which have triggered widespread backlash.
Comment: Macron's emergency appointment of Lecornu as prime minister is essentially a "trusted person to put out the fire" during a political crisis, but it cannot hide the difficulties of his government in governance.
From the logic of the appointment, choosing 39-year-old right-wing loyalist and Defense Minister Lecornu emphasizes his "loyalty" over years, trying to stabilize the turbulent cabinet with "his own people"; also, it aims to use his administrative experience accumulated in the Ukraine-Russia conflict to tackle pressing issues such as passing the budget and quelling protests—after all, the previous Prime Minister Barnier fell due to the austerity measures, and the core task of the new Prime Minister is to "stop the bleeding." But this operation of "frequent change of generals" (five prime ministers have been changed since the second term) exposes the hard wound of the lack of a stable governing foundation of Macron's government, forming a sharp contrast with the past image of political stability of the Fifth Republic of France.
From the perspective of opposition voices and protest risks, Mélenchon's accusation of "disrespecting the parliament" is not without basis: Macron bypassing the parliamentary differences and directly appointing a loyalist seems more like using "personnel adjustments" to avoid policy controversies rather than solving the public dissatisfaction caused by the austerity measures. Now, with 80,000 military police on high alert for nationwide protests, it shows that public trust in the government has dropped to a low point—Lecornu, even with his deep experience, if he cannot come up with an effective alternative to the austerity policies, relying only on the identity of "Macron's loyalist" may only temporarily maintain the facade of the cabinet, but cannot truly calm the public anger.
This appointment avoids the most fundamental issue: the current dilemma in France is never something that can be solved by simply "changing the prime minister," but rather the conflict between austerity policies and people's needs, the imbalance between presidential power and parliamentary checks and balances, and the disconnect between elite politics and public demands. Lecornu's appointment may allow Macron's government to get through the current wave of protests, but as long as the policy direction does not change and the governing approach does not shift, the next political turmoil may only be a matter of time—Macron's approach of "using loyalists to put out the fire" delays the problem, ultimately leading to the flames getting worse.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842826632694791/
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