By Geert De Clercq and Richard Lough
PARIS (Reuters) -French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Sunday named Roland Lescure, a close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, as finance minister in a new cabinet that saw several senior ministers in the last ousted government retain their posts.
Lescure, who was swift to rally behind Macron when he first ran for the presidency in 2017, briefly spent time inside the Socialist Party early in his career. His nomination was widely seen as a gesture to the left ahead of further delicate cross-party budget negotiations.
Budget talks have grown increasingly fraught, requiring delicate trade-offs between three ideologically opposed blocs – Macron’s ruling centrist minority, the far right and the left.
BUDGET CRISIS
Lecornu’s two predecessors, Francois Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were brought down by parliament over efforts to rein in France’s public spending at a time when ratings agencies and investors are closely watching the country’s deficit, the largest in the euro zone.
“This is Bayrou’s government without Bayrou, and will implement the same policies,” hard-left lawmaker Eric Coquerel told BFM TV.
Former finance minister Bruno Le Maire, who oversaw France’s “whatever it costs” response to the COVID pandemic, was appointed defence minister. He will now shape French thinking on how Europe should bolster European security as U.S. President Donald Trump demands the European Union do more to support Ukraine.
“The choice of this identical government, seasoned with the man who bankrupted France, is pathetic,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on X, referring to France’s surging deficit during Le Maire’s tenure at the finance ministry. “We are utterly dismayed.”
Several key ministers remained in their post, including Jean-Noel Barrot at the foreign ministry, Bruno Retailleau at the interior ministry and Gerald Darmanin at the justice ministry.
COURTING THE SOCIALISTS
Lescure, 58, will face a tough balancing act: securing either support or abstention from the Socialists, while preserving Macron’s pro-business legacy and keeping conservatives and liberals on board.
The Franco-Canadian and former senior executive at Natixis Asset Management will also need to be mindful of the far right’s budget sensitivities given their readiness to try collapsing the government once more.
In a bid to win over the Socialists, Lecornu has proposed a wealth tax long demanded by the left, while excluding business owners’ assets to shield companies and jobs.
He has also ruled out using special constitutional powers to push the budget through parliament without a vote.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Ros Russell)
