Paris - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, who accepted it, according to the Élysée Palace. Following Lecornu's resignation announcement, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the France Insoumise party, called via the X platform for an immediate review of the no-confidence motion submitted by 104 deputies against President Macron, according to the Brussels-based Euronews website.
Lecornu was appointed Prime Minister on September 9 and faced widespread criticism from opponents and right-wing parties after he revealed part of his government on Sunday evening, which he considered to have not seen radical changes from its predecessors.
A number of ministers from the Republicans party retained their positions, including Bruno Rétayeau at the Ministry of the Interior and Gérald Darmanin at the Ministry of Justice. The lineup also included surprises, such as the appointment of Bruno Le Maire, the former Minister of the Economy, as Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs. A number of ministers close to President Macron also retained their positions, including Jean-Noël Barrot at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Elisabeth Borne at the Ministry of Education. Meanwhile, Éric Lombard replaced Roland Lescure, the former Minister of Industry and a close associate of Macron for French citizens in the United States and Canada, at the Ministry of Finance.
Manuel Valls remained in charge of the Ministry of Overseas Territories, while left-wing minister François Rebsamen announced that he would not participate in the new government, stressing that his decision was "based on his left-wing progressive convictions." Éric Würth, a former minister in Nicolas Sarkozy's government, will succeed him.
This is the third government formed in France in one year, reflecting an unprecedented political crisis in the country.
After Lecornu announced his resignation, the leader of the La France Insoumise party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, called via the X platform for an immediate consideration of the motion of no confidence submitted by 104 MPs against President Macron. In statements to the Europa wal Arab website, Dutch-based journalist Noureddine El Omrani said, “French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned after less than a month in office. Lecornu, 39, was the country’s fifth prime minister in less than two years. He was sworn in as prime minister on September 10. The reason for his resignation remains unclear. He was appointed to pull France out of its political stagnation. The country is also suffering from an economic crisis, with a budget deficit of 5 percent of GDP, the highest in the European Union. This deficit and the announcement of austerity measures have led to much unrest in recent times. Lecornu has been a controversial figure since his appointment, having included misleading information in his CV.”