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French presidency unveils new Cabinet as budget pressure intensifies

13 Oct 2025, 7:07 AM
French presidency unveils new Cabinet as budget pressure intensifies

PARIS, Oct 13 — The French presidency announced Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's new Cabinet line-up on Sunday, with most top jobs remaining unchanged at a time when opponents are demanding a political shift to win their support for urgent budget talks.

Lecornu, who was reappointed Prime Minister last week after a previous stint that lasted just 27 days, had pledged to deliver a cabinet of "renewal and diversity," but stuck with his previous picks for most of the choice jobs.

It remains to be seen if his new Cabinet will satisfy opponents. The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) has said it will file a motion of no confidence on Monday, as did the far-right National Rally, meaning the new government will face a nail-biting vote before the end of the week.

Meanwhile the Socialists, whose support the government would almost certainly need to survive such a vote, are keeping their options open.

"No comment," Socialist party leader Olivier Faure wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the government's announcement.

Lecornu, whose last Cabinet lasted just 14 hours, reappointed Roland Lescure, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, as Finance Minister. The government must formally present a budget in the coming days that faces a perilous path through a deeply divided Parliament, where many have now set their sights on the contest to succeed Macron in 2027.

Lecornu also kept Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin in their posts.

"A single imperative guides my decisions: to serve my country and the French people. Without renouncing any of my convictions, I am therefore taking leave from all partisan activity," Darmanin posted on X.

The most notable change to the ministerial picks was incoming Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, head of the Paris police, who replaces Bruno Retailleau, leader of the conservative Republicans Party and who harbours his own presidential ambitions.

Nunez is a graduate of the elite École Nationale d'Administration, and has held key positions across the French security apparatus, including head of the domestic intelligence agency DGSI. Last year, he kept Paris safe during the Olympics.

A French flag flies atop the National Assembly on the day Prime Minister François Bayrou seeks a confidence vote in Parliament on the budget issue, in Paris, France, on September 8, 2025.

Former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne lost her job as education minister, replaced by civil servant Édouard Geffray.

Catherine Vautrin, a veteran of the centre-right, replaced Lecornu as defense minister. She was previously labour minister in former Prime Minister François Bayrou's government, and also served as a minister under former president Jacques Chirac.

Budget presentation looms

Lecornu met with Macron to hash out the list on Sunday evening, two days after his reappointment as Prime Minister and in the midst of France's worst political crisis in decades.

BFM TV reported Macron wanted a government named before he left for Egypt late on Sunday to attend a meeting to end the war in Gaza.

The President's office says the budget proposal must be ready by Wednesday to comply with constitutional deadlines. Having a cabinet in place is a formal precondition for presenting a budget.

France has been mired in crisis as a series of minority governments struggle to pass deficit-reduction measures through a truculent Parliament, split between three ideological blocs.

In a sign of the volatility gripping French politics, Lecornu said on Sunday that he would not rule out resigning again.

"If the conditions were no longer met again, I would leave. I am not going to just go along with whatever," he told La Tribune Dimanche.

Pensions and wealth tax remain key issues

The Socialists want Lecornu to repeal Macron's pension reform and roll out a wealth tax, proposals the right refuses to countenance.

Lecornu signalled potential flexibility on the pensions issue on Saturday, saying "all debates are possible as long as they are realistic."

If he fails to secure Parliamentary support, France would need emergency stopgap legislation to authorise spending from January 1 until a full budget is adopted.

A view of the National Assembly in Paris, France, on October 6, 2025.
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