If further proof were needed that French President Emmanuel Macron retains control over the prime minister's office, the composition of Sébastien Lecornu's new cabinet is the ultimate demonstration. After a three-hour meeting at the Elysée on Sunday, October 12, the president and his prime minister unveiled, just before 10 pm and via a statement from the presidency, the 35 ministers who will face, as soon as this week, two votes of no confidence from La France Insoumise (LFI, the radical left) and the Rassemblement National (RN, the far right).

Lecornu presented a revised version of his initial cabinet, which was deemed too Macronist and had led him to resign after just 14 hours, on October 6. This time, he downplayed the political aspect of his lineup, calling it on X "a government with a mission" that transcends "personal and partisan interests" and whose goal is to "give France a budget before the end of the year."

Although the Elysée said on Friday it had "given the prime minister a carte blanche," Macron pushed Lecornu to form a diverse cabinet comprised of individuals from civil society, the senior civil service, and his own loyalists. The same approach was used during Macron's first term, when few ministers had significant political influence.

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