Plans have been submitted to cut down a 15-metre sycamore
tree in Blackheath, Greenwich, sparking concern among local residents and
campaigners.
Both supporters and detractors agree that the metaphor, which is reminiscent of the austere warrior monks of the Crusades, fits the restrained Lecornu perfectly. Macron put his loyal sidekick back in a position that few others in the president's inner circle seemed eager to do on Friday. He gave him the same assignment that had lost him his job just days before: navigating a split parliament with a reduced 2026 budget.
“I don’t think there were many candidates, to be completely honest,”
Lecornu told reporters during a visit to a police station in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, a suburb south of Paris, on Saturday.
“I have no agenda, no other ambition than to get through this moment, which is objectively very difficult for everyone.”
Despite holding a number of ministerial positions since 2017, including defense minister, Lecornu, 39, was hardly known to the majority of French citizens prior to his first tenure as prime minister. After his resignation speech, which was widely commended for its sincerity and humility, his popularity skyrocketed.
However, Macron’s decision to bring Lecornu back just four days after his departure has drawn sharp criticism from opponents, who called the move “absurd”, “a bad joke”, and “a middle finger to the French”. Many vowed to oust him at the earliest opportunity.
“Even if people criticise the reappointment, there is little criticism of his character,”
said Bernard Sananès of polling firm Elabe on BFM TV, noting that Lecornu’s approval rating had climbed 11 points, placing him among France’s ten most popular politicians.
“Modesty and humility — qualities that contrast with Emmanuel Macron’s image.”
A discreet and loyal figure, Lecornu had long remained in the president’s shadow, unlike other ministers who openly harboured ambitions to succeed Macron.
At 16, he had even considered joining the priesthood, he once revealed a detail friends cite as evidence of his self-sacrificing nature.
“My prudence, my old-fashioned communication style protects me,”
he said in an interview last year.
What are the key points of the 2026 draft budget Lecornu must present?
The objective is to decrease the budget deficit to about
4.7% of GDP, a little bit higher than his predecessor's 4.6% objective but
lower than the anticipated 5.4% budget deficit in 2025.
The draft budget reflects requests from the French populace for greater fiscal fairness. Lecornu has ruled out bringing back a wealth tax or reversing the government’s pension reform in connection to the proposed budget.
The draft needs to go to cabinet and then to parliament no later than October 13 to have enough time for the 70-day parliamentary review and the 8-day constitutional court review before the end of the year.
Lectornu says that the final budget will come about as a result of parliamentary compromise and not solely by the government.