France's new prime minister takes office amid anti-government protests

PARIS (Reuters) -Sebastien Lecornu, the loyalist picked by President Emmanuel Macron to be France's fifth prime minister in two years, took office on a day of sprawling anti-government protests on Wednesday that underlined the depth of the country's political crisis.

Lecornu, a conservative Macron protege who most recently served as his defence minister, arrived at the prime minister's residence at midday where he met with former Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who was ousted by parliament on Monday over plans to trim the country's outsized deficit.

Lecornu may then use his first speech to lay out how he will seek to reach consensus with an unruly parliament, split into three distinct ideological blocs, and pass a slimmed-down budget for next year.

Lecornu has to send a full draft of the 2026 budget to parliament by October 7, although there is some wiggle room until October 13, after which lawmakers will run out of time to pass the budget by year's-end.

Reactions to Lecornu's appointment on Tuesday underscored the challenge he faces. Parties broadly agree on the need to slash France's deficit, which reached 5.8% of GDP in 2024, but not on how to do it.

While the hard-left said it would seek to topple Lecornu with an immediate no-confidence motion, the far-right National Rally (RN) signalled tentative willingness to work with him on the budget - as long as its budgetary demands are met.

"His budget will be RN or his government will not be," RN lawmaker Laure Lavalette posted on X late on Tuesday.

The RN is France's largest parliamentary party and as such a crucial factor in any potential no-confidence motion. Still, Lecornu is seen as the closest member of Macron's circle to the RN, having dined with RN president Jordan Bardella last year.

'BLOCK EVERYTHING' PROTESTS

Lecornu's other path to passing a budget involves uniting the Socialists, who want to water down budget cuts and tax the rich, with his former party The Republicans, who are dead-set against any tax rises.

Macron, in an unusual step, called Socialist party leader Olivier Faure on Tuesday to tell him he would not be appointing a leftist as prime minister. On Wednesday, Faure appeared to leave the door ajar to working with Lecornu, while also saying he would support a no-confidence measure if he felt the government didn't take on board its budgetary priorities.

Thousands of people across France meanwhile took to the streets as part of the so-called "Block Everything" protests, an expression of broad discontent with Macron, proposed budget cuts and the entire political class.

Authorities deployed some 80,000 police nationwide to contain protesters who disrupted traffic, burned rubbish bins and at times clashed with security forces.

"Anger has been rumbling for months, even years," said Daniel Bretones, a union member protesting in Marseille. "We're on the fifth prime minister under Macron's second term, and it has never changed anything."

(Reporting by Gabriel StargardterEditing by Frances Kerry)