Posted on 09/09/2025 12:01:48 PM PDT by DFG
French President Macron late Tuesday appointed Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as France’s new prime minister and tasked him with immediately trying to get the country's fractious political parties to agree on a budget for one of the world's biggest economies.
Lecornu, 39, was the youngest defense minister in French history and architect of a major military buildup through 2030, spurred by Russia’s war in Ukraine. A longtime Macron loyalist, Lecornu is now France's fourth prime minister in barely a year.
A former conservative who joined Macron’s centrist movement in 2017, Lecornu has held posts in local governments, overseas territories and during Macron’s yellow vest “great debate,” when he helped manage mass anger with dialogue. He also offered talks on autonomy during unrest in Guadeloupe in 2021.
His rise reflects Macron’s instinct to reward loyalty, but also the need for continuity as repeated budget showdowns have toppled his predecessors and left France in drift.
Macron's quick decision to name Lecornu comes ahead of a day of mass disruption planned Wednesday by a protest movement called ‘’Block Everything'' that prompted the government to deploy an exceptional 80,000 police to keep order.
Legislators toppled Lecornu’s predecessor Francois Bayrou and his government in a confidence vote on Monday, a new crisis for Europe’s second-largest economy.
Bayrou gambled that lawmakers would back his view that France must slash public spending to rein in its huge debts. Instead, they seized on the vote to gang up against the 74-year-old centrist who was appointed by Macron last December.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
“A former conservative who joined Macron’s centrist movement”
Ah, so he’s basically a French RINO
Rearranging le deck chairs.
Macron is the problem. Swapping prime ministers won’t solve the problem.
Macron is like Trudeau... it will take a crowbar to get that pos to leave. Same with Starmer and the kraut leader.
They’re being instructed to never leave.
Or in French: CQDN.
Doesn’t have the same snap, does it?
My mind immediately said that means Quack Done.
OR...he mounted the winning horse when Macron took over, but he has some conservative leanings and sees his old conservative buddies gaining support, while Macron falls on his ass.. Think positive.
Lecornhole...
I was curious as to how the French Government works. Here is how Copilot AI describes it:
Emmanuel Macron is the **President of France**, which is the highest office in the French Fifth Republic. His role is quite powerful compared to many other democratic systems, and here’s why:
### 🇫🇷 Macron’s Role as President
- **Head of State**: He represents France internationally and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
- **Appoints the Prime Minister**: Macron has the constitutional authority to appoint the Prime Minister, although the choice must reflect the political balance in the National Assembly.
- **Can dissolve Parliament**: If needed, he can call for new legislative elections.
- **Presides over the Council of Ministers**: This is the executive cabinet, which he leads alongside the Prime Minister.
### 🧩 Why Macron Appoints the Prime Minister
Under the **French Constitution (1958)**:
- The President appoints the Prime Minister, who must be able to command a majority in the **National Assembly** (France’s lower house of Parliament).
- If the Prime Minister loses a confidence vote—as happened recently with François Bayrou—Macron must appoint a new one who can navigate the political landscape.
- Macron just appointed **Sébastien Lecornu** as the new Prime Minister, marking the fifth PM in two years due to repeated legislative gridlock.
### 🏛️ How the French Government Functions
France operates under a **semi-presidential system**, which blends presidential and parliamentary elements:
| Branch | Role |
|-—————————|———————————————————————————————————|
| **President** | Oversees foreign policy, defense, and appoints the Prime Minister. |
| **Prime Minister** | Leads domestic policy, manages day-to-day governance, and runs the cabinet. |
| **National Assembly** | Legislates and can vote to remove the Prime Minister via a confidence vote. |
| **Senate** | Reviews legislation but has less power than the Assembly. |
- The **Council of Ministers** (cabinet) is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- The **Prime Minister must maintain support in Parliament**, or risk being ousted—as happened with Bayrou.
France’s system is designed to balance executive power with parliamentary oversight, but when the President’s party lacks a majority, it can lead to instability—like the recent budget standoff and frequent PM changes.
If you’re curious, Richard, I could walk you through how this compares to the U.S. system or even explore how Macron’s leadership style has shaped France’s current political climate.
Maybe France could go back to a constitutional monarchy.
They have three choices there is a Bourbon pretender, a Orleans pretender and a Bonaparte contender! Any one of those would be better then Macron.
The French have a defense minister? What’s his job - setting standards for the quickest rifle drops and surrenders?
I wonder how Parlimentarian Government works in UK in contrast?
Richard Rosh
Literally, “The Horned One”!
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