Macron’s New Cabinet Faces Backlash Amid Budget Crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron’s newly announced cabinet has drawn widespread criticism after he appointed Sébastien Lecornu, a former defence minister, as prime minister last month.

Despite expectations of major changes, the cabinet unveiled late Sunday remained largely unchanged, sparking discontent across the political spectrum.

Lecornu now faces the difficult task of securing parliamentary approval for a controversial austerity budget aimed at curbing France’s ballooning debt. His two immediate predecessors, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were both forced out following confrontations with lawmakers over the same issue.

Official data last week showed that France’s public debt has reached a record high, making its debt-to-GDP ratio the third highest in the European Union, after Greece and Italy—nearly double the EU’s 60 percent limit.

In previous years, Macron’s government passed three consecutive budgets without a parliamentary vote, using a constitutional loophole that drew heavy criticism from the opposition. Lecornu, however, has pledged to restore parliamentary debate on the new spending plan.

The political gridlock stems from Macron’s snap parliamentary elections last year, a gamble intended to strengthen his hand but which instead left his centrist alliance without a majority, deepening France’s legislative paralysis.