French President Emmanuel Macron appointed his close associate Sebastian Lekorni New Prime Minister on Tuesday, defying the expectations that he would open to the left.

The choice of 39 -year -old Lekorni shows Macron’s determination to continue with a minority government and promote the agenda of pro -business economic reforms, which reduced businesses and wealthy taxes and increased the retirement limit.

France is in political turmoil, as François Bairou lost a vote of confidence just nine months after his appointment because of his plans to limit the country’s growing debt.

Assigning the prime minister to Lecorne, Macron risks alienating the center -left Socialist Party and lets him and his government depend on the support of Marin Lepen’s far -right national gathering in parliament.

Lekorni’s immediate priority will be to create consensus on the budget of 2026, a project that proved to be fatal to Bairou, who had promoted aggressive spending cuts to limit the deficit, which is almost twice the 3% of the EU.

Focusing budget

This week’s political turmoil reveals the ever -deeper crisis in France, which weakens the second largest eurozone economy, as it sinks even further into debt.

Lecorne’s appointment is not without risks to Macron. It is at risk of being “out of place and time” in a period of growing popular discontent and while polls show that voters are calling for change. Pan -national mobilizations with the slogan “Block Everything” threaten with extensive upheavals on Wednesday.

Lekorni entered politics by pre -election to former President Nicolas Sarkozy at the age of 16. At 18 he became mayor in a small town in Normandy and at 22 he became the Sarkozy Government Counselor.

He later retired from the Conservative Les Républicains party to join the Central Political Movement of Macron when the latter was elected president in 2017. Five years later, he undertook the election campaign for Macron’s re -election.

With the appointment of a minister from his own camp with a conservative background, Macron seems to have decided to safeguard his financial heritage at all costs.

The Socialists have pledged to overthrow some of his iconic pro -business policies, such as abolishing property tax and increasing the retirement threshold, measures that the president considers necessary for France to remain attractive to investors.

Lekorni has occasionally has an open channel with Marin Lepen and her party leader, Zordan Bardella, with whom he had a secret dinner last year. National Alarm executives told Reuters that they could provide a form of implied support to Lecorne if he was appointed prime minister.

The party has made it clear that it will not tolerate tax increases in working citizens.