French PM Lecornu, Macron's 'soldier monk', steels himself for budget battle

By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) -When Sebastien Lecornu gave his first prime-time TV interview hours after resigning as French prime minister on Wednesday, he cast himself as a "soldier monk" — a man of duty who would not shy away if President Emmanuel Macron called him back to battle.

The metaphor, evoking the austere warrior monks of the Crusades, fits the discreet Lecornu well, allies and critics say. On Friday, Macron reappointed his loyal servant to a job no one else in the president's camp seemed eager to take, tasking him with the same job that felled him just a few days ago - passing a slimmed-down 2026 budget through a hostile parliament.

"I don't feel that there were many candidates, to be completely transparent," Lecornu told journalists after a visit to a police station in L'Hay-les-Roses, a suburb south of Paris, on Saturday. "I don't have an agenda. I have no other ambition than to get through this moment, which is objectively very difficult for everyone."

REAPPOINTMENT CRITICISED BY OPPONENTS

Prior to his first premiership, Lecornu, 39, was largely unknown to most French people, despite holding several ministerial posts since 2017, including defence. His popularity surged after his post-resignation speech, with many praising his humble tone.

Lecornu's new-found popularity may be his only weapon as criticism mounts over Macron's decision to bring him back just four days after his resignation. Opponents called the move "absurd", "a bad joke" and "a middle finger to the French", with many pledging to vote Lecornu out as soon as possible.

"Even if there is criticism about his reappointment, there is little criticism of his personality," said Bernard Sananes of pollster Elabe on BFM TV, explaining that Lecornu's popularity has jumped 11 points to reach the top 10 of France's most popular politicians. "Modesty, humility. That contrasts with Emmanuel Macron's image."

A low-profile loyalist, Lecornu had long stayed in the president's shadow — unlike other cabinet colleagues who openly nurtured ambitions to succeed Macron.

He once considered joining the priesthood at 16, he said in an interview last year — a detail friends cite as proof of his tendency to self-sacrifice.

"My prudence, my old-school style in terms of communication protects me," he said in that interview.

SIGNALLED WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE ON REFORMS

Behind the scenes, Lecornu has been a shrewd operator, constantly available for the hyperactive president and even lightening the mood with impersonations of former leaders Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, people close to him say.

The former mayor of a small Normandy town, he earned respect among lawmakers and local officials by talking to all sides and showing little ideological rigidity, the people said.

Unlike many in Macron's camp, he has signalled openness to concessions on some of the president's sacred cows, such as taxing the rich or softening a contested pension reform.

"He has no religion on these issues," a former staffer said.

That flexibility, at a time when winning at least Socialist abstentions will be key to passing a budget and ensuring his government's survival, is why Macron turned to him again — seeing Lecornu as his last chance to avoid a snap election pushed by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Alex Richardson)