France’s Lecornu II ‘mission-driven’ government kicks off

Brussels – Second time lucky – maybe: yesterday (October 12), the French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu presented his second government team in the space of seven days. After his resignation on October 6, a few hours after the announcement of the first executive, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron urged his friend and former Minister of the Armed Forces to try again. So, there is a second Lecornu mandate, described by the Prime Minister himself as “a mission-driven government to deliver a budget bill to France by the end of the year.” The executive is mainly composed of members of the Republican right, Macron loyalists, and technocrats.

The new government

Facing the political storm – five governments in three years – will be thirty-four members, many of whom were already present in previous Macron II-era executives. There is not much new in the team of ministers: the reconfirmed ministers include Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, and Culture Minister Rachida Dati. In detail, eleven ministers come from the presidential Renaissance party, six from the Republicans (LR), four from the Democratic Movement, three from Horizons, one from Liot, one from the Union of Democrats, and one from the independents. The absolute novelty is the large group of exponents of civil society: eight appointed members.

The ranks of the technocrats include the prefect of Paris, Laurent Nuñez, appointed Minister of the Interior, the general director of the SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, the new Minister of Labor, and the former director of WWF France, Monique Barbut, at the head of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

#Government I On a proposal from the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic has appointed Mr Laurent Nuñez Minister of the Interior. pic.twitter.com/9pU7I91ds1

– Ministry of the Interior (@Interieur_Gouv) October 12, 2025

The motions of censure

Unlike in Italy, where a vote of confidence is required for a new executive to take office, the Lecornu government will be up and running immediately. However, stability is far from guaranteed: the right wing of Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National) and the left wing of Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France Insoumise) have already announced motions of censure. The Socialist deputies of Olivier Faure (PS) may also vote in favor, as they were expecting more openings from this round of appointments. “Dissolution is the most likely scenario,” Faure told the newspaper La Tribune.

In a phase of full instability, Emmanuel Macron continues to reject the idea of resignation and the possibility of a government other than the center and center-right. This morning, from Egypt – where he is attending the Gaza “Peace Summit” – the President appealed for unity: “The political forces must work for stability.” Then, a jab at his opponents: “I find that many of those who have nurtured division and speculation have not lived up to the moment France is going through and the moment that awaits the French.” In Paris, one wonders whether the President has lived up to the moment.