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

France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu speaks during the handover ceremony at Hôtel Matignon in Paris, September 10, 2025.

Photo credit: Reuters

France’s new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, pledged to find creative ways to work with rivals to pass a debt-slimming budget while also promising new policy directions, after taking office on a day of sprawling anti-government protests on Wednesday.

President Emmanuel Macron picked Lecornu to be his fifth prime minister in two years on Tuesday, naming a loyalist who is unlikely to rip up his pro-business economic agenda.