There’ll be no honeymoon period for France’s newly named Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, with financial markets and the public showing increasing restlessness over France’s political and fiscal impasse.
Lecornu, who was only appointed as France’s new prime minister on Tuesday after the unceremonious ousting of PM Francois Bayrou at the start of the week, faces an immediate challenge as a mass public protest is unfolding Wednesday.
The grassroots “Let’s Block Everything” movement has called on disgruntled voters to show their dissatisfaction over the messy state of French affairs with acts of civil disobedience, urging protestors to blockade transport networks, public buildings and other services.
Paris police said Wednesday morning that 75 people have already been arrested, according to a France 24 report. Images have emerged of disorder erupting in the capital.
Lecornu’s baptism of fire comes just hours after Bayrou handed in his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday. Bayrou’s downfall came after losing a confidence vote in the National Assembly on Monday evening, as a result of failing to win support for proposed spending cuts and tax rises in the national 2026 budget.
