National Rally (RN), a party led by the far-right and first in number of seats, announced tonight that it will present a motion of censure on Monday to overthrow the minority government of Sébastien Lecornu, which will only prosper if the left as a whole supports it.
“The President of the Republic (Emmanuel Macron) has to announce as quickly as possible the dissolution of the National Assembly to once again give the floor to the French people and to choose a breaking majority, which, without a doubt,” Le Pen declared in ‘X’.
France Insoumise (LFI), the main left-wing party and third in number of deputies, did not say whether it will vote in favor of this motion, but it already announced days ago that it will present its own as soon as possible.
“I give advice to those who have just arrived, do not unpack so quickly. The motion of censure arrives and then Macron will be the one to leave,” said the parliamentary leader of the LFI, Mathilde Panot.
The Socialist Party (PS), the fourth force and key to the success of a motion or to the maintenance of Lecornu’s government, has not given any clues as to what it will do, although its first secretary, Olivier Faure, showed signs of discomfort after the announcement of the team of ministers, with a brief message in English: “No comment“.
Faure has set as a condition for not overthrowing the Government the suspension of the 2023 pension reform, which Macron defended tooth and nail as he considered it essential for the clean-up of public accounts.
with the aim of starting the processing of the 2026 Budgets, which will have to go through the filter of the French National Assembly, the most arduous part, since it is fragmented into three currents (left, extreme right and center) that are irreconcilable on paper. Both Michel Barnier (September-December 2024) and François Bayrou (December 2024-September 2025) have already been failed by the chamber.
France is going through the most unstable period of the Fifth Republic (since 1958), as it has seen four prime ministers pass in less than two years due to a fragmented National Assembly that arose from the electoral advance decreed by Macron in mid-2024, after the debacle of his party in the European elections.
Budgets, the first challenge
The 2026 Budget project will be the main topic of this first Council of Ministers, because this text must begin to be processed as soon as possible to comply with the constitutional deadlines that allow the country to have accounts for next year.
The plan that comes out of the Council will then have to go through the French National Assembly, the most arduous part since the hemicycle is fragmented into three currents (left, extreme right and center) that are irreconcilable on paper. The party that Lecornu’s Executive has, the Socialist (PS), has set as a condition for not overturning the government in a motion the suspension of the 2023 pension reform, which delays the retirement age from 62 to 64 years and that Macron defended tooth and nail as he considered it essential for the cleanup of public accounts.
Contrary to Lecornu’s first team, which was announced just a week ago and which only lasted 14 hours due to internal dissension, this second administration includes some personalities with a technical profile and less politicized.
An example of this is the Labor portfolio, headed by the until now president of the state railway group SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandou, who will have to deal with a possible suspension of the pension reform, as the socialists request in exchange for not overthrowing the government in a motion in the National Assembly.
In Education, the ministry with the largest budget allocation falls to the senior official Édouard Geffray and that of Ecological Transition to Monique Barbut, former president of the NGO WWF-France. “This is a mission government so that France has a budget before the end of the year. I thank the women and men who commit to this government in complete freedom and without personal or partisan interests,” Lecornu said in ‘X’, after meeting almost three hours with Macron, who had appointed him head of government again this Friday.
Among the main portfolios, the Paris Police Prefect, Laurent Núñez, appointed Minister of the Interior; and as head of Defense, Catherine Vautrin (until now Minister of Labor); while the macronist Roland Lescure, in Economy and with the arduous task of working on the 2026 Budget, and the centrist Jean-Noël Barrot, in Foreign Affairs, repeat.
Some faces known to the French remain, such as the macronist Gérald Darmanin (Justice) and the conservative candidate for mayor of Paris in 2026 Rachida Dati (Culture).
However, the former socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who had served as Overseas Minister in the last year, falls from the list and is replaced by the centrist Naïma Moutchou, in charge of consolidating the historic peace process initiated by Valls in New Caledonia.
In this government team, there are six names from the right-wing Republicans (LR) – among them the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, and the Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot -, despite the fact that their leader and until a few hours ago Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, gave instructions not to re-enter a Macronist Executive.
The Franco-Dominican Éleonore Caroit, Macronist deputy, has been appointed minister delegate of the Francophonie.
