Sébastien Lecornu is close to outdoing even Michel Barnier. Just one year ago, then prime minister Barnier took 16 days to form his government, setting a record for slowness under the Fifth Republic. Having been appointed to the premiership on September 9, Lecornu is on track to surpass this record.

"There is work being done by the prime minister, and it is normal for him to take time, he is right," Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, September 23, speaking from New York. "We must let him do this work," the president added, while, that day, Lecornu sought to come to a compromise with the Parti Socialiste (PS, left). "Let us find respect and goodwill again, share our intelligence and try to move forward together," Macron concluded.

Busy preparing his budget plans, Lecornu, the former armed forces minister, has put "the 'what' before the 'who,'" a source in his entourage said, and "is not putting pressure on himself." As a result, the government's final composition is not expected to be announced before October 2, the date when votes will be held for positions on the bureau (responsible for internal organization and operation) of the Assemblée Nationale and its committee chairmanships. The aim is to avoid depriving the governing coalition of crucial votes in these elections, which have a highly political dimension due to the coalition's absence of a majority in the Assemblée. Finally, in order to keep potential avenues for discussion with the Socialists open, the prime minister has been considering avoiding a government policy statement, which he has no obligation to deliver.

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