British News Agency

On Monday, as he traveled to Egypt to attend the Gaza summit, Macron said of France’s opposition parties, “Most of those who fuel division and speculation have not been removed from office.” He added that the rival “political forces” that “provoked the destabilization” of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu were “solely responsible for this chaos.”

Macron’s ally, Lecornu, held the first meeting of France’s new government after appointing several key figures from Macron’s centrist camp as well as senior officials from public service and civil society. Among the newcomers was Jean-Pierre Farandou, head of the state rail company SNCF, who now serves as Minister of Labour.

This is France’s second government in a week: Lecornu’s first government collapsed after just 14 hours following criticism over a lack of “new faces,” and he dramatically resigned last Monday. Macron reappointed him on Friday night, and by Sunday, Lecornu had quickly formed a new cabinet. Several regional newspapers, including La Provence and La République du Centre, asked, “How long will this last?”