Description: After the ouster of former Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, appointed Sebastien Lecornu the former Defense Minister as the country’s next Prime Minister. Lecornu’s appointment was received by predominantly negative sentiment among France’s political establishment with leaders such as Jordan Bardella, Olivier Faure and Jean Luc Melenchon stating that Macron was recycling policy and attempting to stubbornly pursue the same negative outcome once again. Bayrou’s ouster, instigated by the self-initiated vote of confidence on 08 Sep, plunged the country into immediate political and potentially constitutional crisis. Protests are expected to unfold this week by the Let’s Block Everything (Bloquons Tout) movement as police forces across France were rallying for a nationwide unrest.
Impact: Macron’s appointment of Lecornu indicates that the French President would be reluctant to give in towards the larger oppositional pressure and calls for early elections. Lecornu’s appointment signals Macron’s unwillingness to engage in a broader political coalition to resolve France’s mounting issues, such as the country’s budget restructuring, growing pressure from the migration crisis and defense expenditure. The new Prime Minister would momentarily stabilize the political climate in the country by attempting to tackle pressing issues such as the budget, however, the political opposition even in conditions of fractured and independent approach towards the political crisis is expected to continue to pursue snap elections as an option. The protests in France are expected to be nationwide as security personnel capacities would be strained since the public outcry from the country’s political ineptness has been substantially increased in the past couple of months.