This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmenp1k0mjo
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Macron names ally Sébastien Lecornu as new French PM | Macron names ally Sébastien Lecornu as new French PM |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Sébastien Lecornu (L) has served as armed forces minister for the past three years | Sébastien Lecornu (L) has served as armed forces minister for the past three years |
| President Emmanuel Macron has named close ally Sébastien Lecornu as new French prime minister, 24 hours after a vote of confidence ousted François Bayrou as head of his government. | President Emmanuel Macron has named close ally Sébastien Lecornu as new French prime minister, 24 hours after a vote of confidence ousted François Bayrou as head of his government. |
| Lecornu, 39, was among the favourites to take over the job, and has spent the past three years as armed forces minister, with a focus on France's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. | |
| In a statement the Elysée Palace said he had been given the task of consulting political parties with the aim of adopting France's next budget. | |
| Bayrou had visited the president hours earlier to hand in his resignation, paving the way for Lecornu to become the fifth prime minister of Macron's second term as president. | Bayrou had visited the president hours earlier to hand in his resignation, paving the way for Lecornu to become the fifth prime minister of Macron's second term as president. |
| Lecornu will face the same challenges as his predecessor, including getting a cost-cutting budget past parliament without a majority. | |
| France has a spiralling public debt, which hit €3.3tn (£2.8tn) earlier this year and represents 114% of the country's economic output or GDP. | |
| Bayrou had proposed €44bn in budget cuts, and his decision to put his plans to a vote of confidence was always going to fail. In the end France's National Assembly decided to oust his government by 364 votes to 194. | |
| Lecornu's appointment has already been condemned by parties on both the left and right, an indication of the difficulties he will face. | |
| On Friday, the credit agency Fitch will reassess France's debts and could make its borrowing costs higher if it lowers its rating from AA-. | |
| More immediately, a grassroots movement called Bloquons Tout - "Let's Block Everything" - is planning widespread anti-government protests on Wednesday and authorities are planning to deploy 80,000 police. |