Explained | Who might Emmanuel Macron pick as France's next prime minister?

Names in the spotlight include Defence Minister Sebastian Lecornu, Labour Minister Catherine Vautrin, Finance Minister Eric Lombard, public auditor Pierre Moscovici, and former PM Bernard Cazeneuve

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron lacks a majority in a fragmented and fractious parliament and has no easy option as he looks for a new prime minister to replace Francois Bayrou. Central to the president's thinking will be who can bridge the divides in the National Assembly and pass a budget for 2026. With presidential elections looming in 2027, there is little incentive for Macron's opponents to make his life easy.

Here are some of the names doing the rounds -

Sebastian Lecornu, Outgoing Defence Minister 

Sebastien Lecornu, 39, was in the running to become prime minister last December before Bayrou persuaded the president at the last minute that he was best placed to forge consensus on a budget.

Lecornu left the conservative Les Republicains party to join Macron's centrist political movement when the president was first elected in 2017. Five years later, he ran Macron's re-election campaign.

Lecornu entered politics canvassing for former President Nicolas Sarkozy when he was 16. He became mayor of a small town in Normandy when he turned 18 and then Sarkozy's youngest government adviser at the age of 22.

Officials from Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party have said they could give conditional support to Lecornu. A discreet Le Pen-Lecornu dinner in April 2024, confirmed by a source familiar with the meeting, caused outcry on the left.

Catering Vautrin, Outgoing Labour Minister

A veteran of Les Republicains, Catherine Vautrin was appointed labour minister in Bayrou's government.

Her return to frontline politics marked a move by Macron to broaden his government’s appeal amid rising social tensions and fragmented parliamentary dynamics, and to tighten relations between the ruling centrist bloc and traditional conservatives.

Vautrin, 65, previously served as a minister under former conservative President Jacques Chirac. She was touted as a possible candidate for prime minister in 2022 before Macron handed the job to Elisabeth Borne.

Eric Lombard, Outgoing Finance Minister

Eric Lombard, 67, has served as finance minister under Francois Bayrou during a period of political and fiscal turbulence.

A former banker and adviser to Socialist Finance Minister Michel Sapin in the 1990s, Lombard has positioned himself as a pragmatic mediator between the fractured political blocs in the National Assembly. He has good relations with Socialist leaders.

Although Lombard oversaw the plans for a €44 billion deficit reduction plan involving tax hikes and spending cuts in the 2026 budget, he has acknowledged that any new government will inevitably have to scale back his ambitions for savings in order to get passed by parliament.

Lombard told the Financial Times he was against new taxes on business but did not rule out more taxes on the wealthy. He dismisses any idea that a Greece-style debt crisis is brewing.

Pierre Moscovici, Head of the Public Auditor

Pierre Moscovici, 67, is a prominent French political figure and economist, currently serving as president of the Cour des Comptes, France’s chief audit institution.

Moscovici was finance minister from 2012 to 2014, overseeing President François Hollande's response to the euro zone crisis. He had to reverse some tax hikes after a backlash against them.

He was later European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs from 2014 to 2019, advocating for strong fiscal discipline across the EU.

Moscovici has been vocal about France’s mounting budget deficit, saying in July it posed a “mortal peril” to the country's economic stability.

Bernard Cazeneuve, Former Socialist Prime Minister

Bernard Cazeneuve, 62, is a longtime Socialist politician, widely respected for his calm demeanor and crisis management skills.

He was prime minister from December 2016 to May 2017 under President Hollande. Prior to that, he was interior minister, overseeing France’s security response to the 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Nice truck attack.