Why you should not write off Sébastien Lecornu | EUROtoday

In his workplace within the French Prime Minister’s official palace, the Hôtel Matignon, Sébastien Lecornu has avoided taking images and different private gadgets. He sees himself as the top of presidency on name. He at all times emphasised this after his rocky begin within the fall along with his resignation and reappointment. But in line with the accepted price range for 2026, all the things signifies that the 39-year-old politician will lead France till the presidential elections in spring 2027.

He received the socialists over to his facet with a combination of compliance and self-denial. The faction of the right-wing Republicans (LR) stays loyal to him, even when get together chief Bruno Retailleau has not been sparing in his robust criticism of the price range. “There is a majority for compromise bills,” Lecornu stated in an interview with regional newspapers over the weekend.

He describes himself as a person of the doable and refrains from making grandiose bulletins. But regardless of all his warning, he would not wish to accept the label of perseverance artist.

Lecornu discovered his approach into politics by Gaullism. He is impressed by the Gaullist undertaking of strengthening France and Europe’s sovereignty. He doesn’t wish to relaxation, particularly within the areas of vitality and protection, even when he lacks a majority in parliament. The phrases of the right-wing presidential candidate Édouard Philippe – “nothing decisive will happen in France until the presidential elections” – shouldn’t come true.

Lecornu counters this with a coverage of the bottom frequent denominator. Even Marine Le Pen appreciates the person from Normandy, who at all times seems modest. She just lately had a humorous banter with him within the National Assembly. Everyone now is aware of that Lecornu maintained contact together with her and get together chief Jordan Bardella over dinner. That would not cease Le Pen from publicly criticizing him as a person of stagnation.

After nearly two and a half years of blockage, the Prime Minister needs to move the vitality framework regulation for the interval till 2035 this week – by regulation. The left-wing get together LFI is already outraged that Lecornu is ruling bypassing parliament. Lecornu, alternatively, has agreed with the center-right forces of the federal government alliance and with the socialists on an vitality combine that’s based mostly on the 2 pillars of the growth of nuclear energy and renewable energies.

The roadmap to 2035 requires slowing down the growth of onshore wind energy and as an alternative investing extra in offshore wind vitality, photovoltaics and geothermal vitality. In this manner, Lecornu is taking into consideration the rising resistance among the many inhabitants towards wind generators.

The right-wing populists round parliamentary group chief Le Pen are even demanding a dismantling of wind vitality as a result of the methods would deface France’s centuries-old cultural landscapes. However, they console themselves with the truth that they may reformulate the framework regulation in the event that they win the election in 2027.

However, it’s much more vital for Lecornu to incorporate the development of six EPR nuclear energy reactors within the vitality framework regulation and the development of eight extra as an “option”. There is a cross-party consensus in France on the necessity to spend money on nuclear energy, which is just questioned by the Greens and the Left Party. Electricity costs in France “will not rise,” guarantees Lecornu.

In the interview with the regional press, he remained silent about how the investments can be financed. The excessive nationwide debt was not addressed. He acknowledged that the objective was to cowl 60 % of France’s vitality consumption by electrical energy.

The former protection minister has additionally vowed to guard army spending from cuts till 2027. Doubling the protection price range inside ten years since 2017 is “an imperative” given the world state of affairs, says Lecornu. He complains that “part of the political elite” continues to be not taking the modified geopolitical situations into consideration.

During his time period as protection minister from May 2022 till his appointment as prime minister in September 2025, he hardly ever sought the highlight. But he developed a detailed, pleasant relationship with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), who had studied in Angers. He invited Pistorius to his constituency across the 25,000-inhabitant city of Vernon on the Seine River, the place Lecornu continues to maintain a weekend house close to his dad and mom.

Recently, a collection of images triggered a stir during which Lecornu was seen strolling by the Vernon weekly market in a darkish jacket and brown corduroy trousers, with a bag of leeks underneath his arm. The French often do not know their heads of presidency to be so down-to-earth, and Lecornu was instantly ridiculed on social networks for attempting to ingratiate himself as a rustic bittern.

Pistorius additionally is aware of how excited Lecornu is for his constituency. Vernon is near painter Claude Monet’s former house and gardens in Giverny. Lecornu confirmed Pistorius round there on a non-public go to. Lecornu continues to function president of the board of administrators of the Impressionist Museum of Giverny and makes use of this position to deepen political friendships. He is likely one of the few native politicians who joined President Macron in 2017 and is aware of what makes native notables tick.

Macron took benefit of this proper at the start of his time period in workplace when he commissioned Lecornu to pacify the continuing German-French dispute over the Fessenheim nuclear energy plant. Between 2017 and 2018, Lecornu did an important job: he satisfied the French facet that Fessenheim needed to go offline and negotiated a take care of the German facet to ascertain an industrial park.

However, he didn’t foresee Macron’s vitality coverage U-turn on the time. Lecornu helped the president out of a troublesome state of affairs for a second time: he organized the primary of the large citizen debates with which Macron ended the weeks of yellow vest protests – in Grand Bourgtheroulde, a city in Lecornu’s Eure division.

Lecornu as soon as described his self-image as that of a monk-soldier. He was alluding to the truth that when he was younger he thought of going to a monastery. At the identical time, he tremendously values ​​soldierly virtues. Although his class was not conscripted, he volunteered as a reserve officer. Lecornu shields his non-public life from the general public. A celebration colleague as soon as stated that he was “married to politics”.

Anyone who visits him in his official palace should be ready to be sniffed by a canine that storms in. The Hungarian pointer Tiga is taken into account Lecornu’s most loyal companion. It can be typically cited when Lecornu’s suitability for president is mentioned. In France, presidents like to indicate off with their canine within the Élysée Palace. But Lecornu denies that he has presidential goals.

He now has to reshuffle the federal government; the flamboyant Culture Minister Rachida Dati and two lesser-known cupboard members must vacate their seats as a consequence of their candidacy within the native elections. Lecornu himself would not miss the chance to be positioned third on the listing in his hometown of Vernon.