Le Point magazine reported that French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprising decision to reappoint former minister and resigned Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, sparking astonishment and discontent both inside France and internationally.

This move is seen domestically as a reflection of Macron’s political isolation and lack of options, according to the magazine. Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally party, described Lecornu’s second government formation as “a bad joke, a democratic disgrace, and an insult to the French people.”

Meanwhile, Marine Tondelier, secretary-general of the Green Party, said she was stunned that the president “decided to cling to power despite losing the elections, and to continue down a path everyone knows is blocked, just because he wants to.”

The surprise was not limited to France. The German newspaper Bild saw Macron as “trapping himself in a trap he set himself,” noting that he tasked his closest aides with finding a way out of the crisis. It highlighted that Lecornu’s reappointment came despite calls to name a figure from the left, which advanced in the early legislative elections.

The Belgian newspaper Le Soir described the situation as “a return to square one,” noting a “week of deadlock and fruitless consultations” led by Lecornu before his reappointment.

The Last Chance Choice

Spain’s El País saw this decision as embodying Macron’s known style “of manipulating timing and exhausting his opponents’ patience,” considering the late 10 PM announcement as further evidence of the growing gap between the president and the French public, “who are tired of the political comedy in recent days.”

The newspaper added that the president not only angered the Socialist Party but also upset “Horizons” led by Édouard Philippe and the “Republicans,” affirming that “no one wanted Lecornu.”

In the UK, The Guardian described this appointment as a “last chance choice,” noting that Lecornu became the third prime minister in one year amid ongoing political crises due to the lack of a parliamentary majority, at a time when the country needs to approve a new budget despite the absence of a stable government for weeks.

The US newspaper The Washington Post viewed Lecornu’s reappointment as part of a “broader political dysfunction” related to Macron’s lack of majority, rendering him unable to pass laws without support from his political opponents.

The paper considered the failure of previous prime ministers a natural result of the fragility of Macron’s political project and highlighted the economic challenges facing France, the EU’s second-largest economy, especially regarding deficit and public debt.

Reuters agency considered that France is going through “the worst political crisis in decades,” noting that “Lecornu’s most urgent task will be to present a budget to parliament by Monday,” granting him “absolute powers” from the president.