PARIS (AP) — France’s newly re-appointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu named a new government Sunday, as he faces pressure to urgently produce a budget and quell political turmoil that is scaring businesses and investors and staining the country’s image.
The Cabinet includes several members who served in previous governments, from French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp and allied conservatives, as well as some people from outside the political sphere.
It is unclear how l ong this new team will last. Macron, whose term ends in 2027, lacks a majority in the deeply fractured parliament. Opposition legislators have called for new elections or his resignation.
Lecornu, a 39-year-old centrist and close ally of Macron, and his government will now have to seek compromises to avoid an immediate vote of no confidence in the National Assembly, deeply fractured among far right, centrist and left-wing camps.
Among new appointments is a new defense minister, former Labor Minister Catherine Vautrin, who will help oversee French military support for Ukraine and address threats to European security posed by Russia.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, who oversaw security for the 2024 Olympics, becomes interior minister, in charge of national security. Roland Lescure will be finance minister, a crucial job as France tries to produce a budget that tackles ballooning debt and growing poverty.
Among those keeping their jobs is Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who travels Monday with Macron to Egypt for an international ceremony marking the Gaza ceasefire.
