New French PM vows ‘profound break’ with past to exit crisis

AFP | Paris

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France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu promised a “profound break” with the past yesterday as he faced the thorny task of trying to build a government with enough parliamentary support to avoid an early demise.

Lecornu’s first day on the job coincided with street protests across France in a show of grassroots opposition to President Emmanuel Macron, which resulted in clashes with police and dozens of arrests, as well as some disruption to transport, schools and other services.

But the protests, called by a collective without a clear leader, had an uneven impact across the country.

The president appointed Lecornu -- a close Macron ally and defence minister for the past three years -- late on Tuesday, only 24 hours after his predecessor Francois Bayrou lost a confidence vote in parliament over his attempt to implement austerity measures to reduce France’s debt.

Taking over from 74-yearold Bayrou, Lecornu, who is 39, promised to find “more creative” ways than before to work with opposition parties as he tries to build a stable government.

“We will get there,” he said during a handover ceremony.

Lecornu is the seventh prime minister since Macron took office in 2017 -- and the third within the space of the year.