French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday appointed loyalist Sébastien Lecornu as the country's new prime minister, his fifth in under two years. Macron made the appointment one day after his last prime minister, François Bayrou, was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote over his proposed austerity measures. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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Trump says decision to strike in Qatar was Netanyahu's alone
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel's decision to strike Qatar was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and not by the Republican leader.
"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals," Trump wrote on social media.
"However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal."
Michel Barnier, former prime minister before Bayrou
"This is a sensible appointment, given the international context."
Jean-Noël Barrot, finance minister in Bayrou's outgoing government
"Congratulations to Sebastien Lecornu on his appointment as Prime Minister. He has all the qualities needed to create the conditions for compromise and ensure the stability that our country so desperately needs in an increasingly brutal world."
Bruno Retailleau, Interior minister in Bayrou's outgoing government
"I am happy that the president has not chosen a Socialist prime minister... I believe that in order to break the deadlock, we need to build a project that satisfies the national majority ... we need more security, less immigration, there is consensus about that among a large part of the French population. Many people also believe that the state needs to tighten its belt."
Socialist party chief Olivier Faure
"With the appointment of Sebastien Lecornu to Matignon, Emmanuel Macron is stubbornly pursuing a path that no socialist will participate in.
Without social, fiscal, and ecological justice, without measures to boost purchasing power, the same causes will produce the same effects."
Jean-Luc Mélechon, chairman of the far-left France Unbowed party
"Macron's response to Bayrou's reversal: from now on, it's exactly as it was before.
Only Macron's departure can put an end to this sad comedy of contempt for Parliament, voters, and political decency."
National Rally party leader Jordan Bardella
"Emmanuel Macron's motto: you don't change a losing team. How could a loyal supporter of the president break with the policy he has been pursuing for eight years?
We will judge the new Prime Minister - without illusions — on his actions, his decisions, and his plans for France's budget, and we will do so in light of our red lines."
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen
"The President is firing the last shot of Macronism, holed up in his bunker with his small group of loyalists. After the inevitable future legislative elections, the Prime Minister will be Jordan Bardella."
The Debate: Can Macron compromise?
In 2017, he blew up the system. Now, can he keep it together? France's Emmanuel Macron had never run for public office before becoming president. And for a while, he seemed exempt from the crude reality of political horse-trading.
Yet now, the same Macron who reigned supreme when he smashed the big-tent centre-left and centre-right parties eight years ago is running out of road in his second term: with his baffling decision last year to dissolve parliament backfiring miserably, an even stronger opposition on Monday ousted the 47-year old president's second prime minister in less than a year Monday.
Macron hoped that with Michel Barnier and then François Bayrou, he could stay in his comfort zone with a coalition that runs from traditional conservatives to the centre. But Monday’s vote at the National Assembly wasn’t even close.
Beyond the guessing game of who Macron will pick next, is it about Macron himself, the leader who promised Jupiter-like strength from on high and who now has to make concessions, or a democracy that’s no longer so unique on a continent rife with populist pressures and fragmented political forces?
Watch the full debate by clicking on the player below.
Macron names Sébastien Lecornu as France's new prime minister
French President Macron late Tuesday appointed Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu as France’s new prime minister, the country’s fourth in about a year.
Lecornu, 39, is the youngest defence minister in French history and architect of a major military buildup through 2030, spurred by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A former conservative who joined Macron’s centrist movement in 2017, he has held posts on local authorities, overseas territories and during Macron’s yellow vest “great debate”, where he managed 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.
The announcement of new PM 'imminent', says source close to Macron
The announcement of a new PM is "imminent", said a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron.
France's 'Block Everything' protests hang over Macron's search for a new PM
French authorities say they're bracing for possible acts of sabotage and other violence when tens of thousands of protesters are expected to respond to online calls to disrupt the country on Wednesday, potentially compounding France's latest political crisis triggered by the government's collapse.
The “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything) movement gathered steam on social media and in encrypted chats over the summer, before François Bayrou's ouster as prime minister in a parliamentary confidence vote on Monday.
But its called-for day of blockades, strikes, demonstrations and other acts of protest on Wednesday is now falling as President Emmanuel Macron — one of the movement's targets – is hunting for a fourth prime minister in 12 months, a prolonged cycle of instability roiling the European Union's second-largest economy.
Although ostensibly unrelated to the planned protests, the discovery of severed pigs' heads – five of them written with Macron's name – near nine Paris-area mosques on Tuesday caused additional unease, bearing possible hallmarks of previous suspected Russian-linked acts of attempted destabilisation that have targeted France and other allies of Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron is fast running out of options as he looks to appoint a fifth prime minister in less than two years, following Bayrou's exit on Monday.
France's embattled president has said a successor to Bayrou will be appointed "in the coming days", though he faces a tall order finding someone who can unite the country's bitterly divided cabinet.
Opposition parties, meanwhile, are piling pressure on Macron to call another election, or even step down.
Click on the link below for a look at what happens next.
🔴 French PM Bayrou resigns
French Prime Minister François Bayrou has handed in his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron.
French PM arrives at Élysée to submit resignation to Macron
French Prime Minister François Bayrou arrived at the Élysée Palace to submit his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron after parliament ousted the government in a confidence vote, according to AFP journalists.
The French president's office said in a statement late Monday that Macron "took note" of the outcome and would name a new premier "in the next days", although the identity of the new premier remains subject to frenzied speculation.
'Bye bye Bayrou': Celebrations in some French cities after PM's downfall
There were celebrations across France after Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a vote of confidence in the National Assembly on Monday. MPs ousted Bayrou by 364 votes to 194 over his austerity budget, which aimed to cut €44 billion to reduce the country's national debt. 'Farewell drinks' for the prime minister were held in several cities, with many happy to see the back of a prime minister widely seen as having little popular mandate. However, there was concern in other quarters over France's growing political instability.
French political crisis 'very bad news for the EU'
Now that legislators have toppled France’s government, a new crisis for Europe’s second-largest economy also spells trouble for the European Union at a moment where the bloc finds itself in need of strong leadership, FRANCE 24's correspondent in Brussels Dave Keating says.
