SEBASTIEN LECORNU. The Minister of the Armed Forces is expected to become the new Prime Minister and replace Élisabeth Borne at Matignon. The reshuffle could take place as early as this week.
Sébastien Lecornu is now expected to take over as head of government and replace Élisabeth Borne. Indeed, a major reshuffle could be announced this week by the head of state Emmanuel Macron. This “politician” in perfect line with Macron is also a former executive of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) then the Republicans (LR).
The native of Eaubonne (Val-d’Oise) was also parliamentary assistant to UMP deputy Franck Gilard, advisor to Bruno Le Maire, Secretary of State for European Affairs in the first Fillon government, mayor of Vernon (Eure) and department president. The one who was youngest member of the Philippe government at the start of Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term, also has a ministerial career to highlight: before inheriting Overseas, he was previously Secretary of State to the Minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition and Minister responsible for Communities.
On May 20, 2022, Sébastien Lecornu was appointed Minister of the Armed Forces, he succeeds Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces since June 21, 2017. The appointment of Sébastien Lecornu to the Ministry of the Armed Forces was considered by the JDD from the first rumors about the reshuffle. This former law student at the prestigious Assas University in Paris has been a reserve lieutenant in the gendarmerie since 2014. “A fine connoisseur of ranks, he got into the habit of reviewing the troops during his travels,” writes Le Figaro.
Sébastien Lecornu arrived in the Armed Forces at a complex time. The question of appointing a new minister, while the war is still raging in Ukraine and international tensions are far from being calmed, has also remained unresolved for a long time. Until now, stability was emphasized, Florence Parly being given as one of the rare members of the government able to keep her position after the presidential election. But in the last few days, the current Minister of the Armed Forces, like that of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, another heavyweight in the executive in times of crisis, have been given the go.
The fact remains that Sébastien Lecornu is the perfect choice for Emmanuel Macron. Presented as a “trusted man” of the Head of State, who remains in institutions the “Chief of the Armed Forces”, this former close friend of Edouard Philippe was in some way pre-empted by the President of the Republic during the previous five-year term . After being “noticed” by the tenant of the Elysée, Sébastien Lecornu would have notably “earned his stripes” as minister of local authorities “by setting in motion the great debate” in response to the yellow vest crisis in 2018, writes Le Monde in the short portrait it devotes to the Minister of Defense.
During the big debate, Sébastien Lecornu will accompany Emmanuel Macron on almost every trip. He has since remained in the wake of the president, whose Support Association he chaired before the 2022 presidential election, bringing together elected officials within local committees.
Sébastien Lecornu more “political” than Florence Parly
Sébastien Lecornu in any case displays a much more political profile than that of Florence Parly, appointed Minister of the Armed Forces on June 21, 2017. This enarque, who will take the place of Sylvie Goulard, who resigned after only a few weeks at Defense, is not completely foreign to the government when she joined it after the election of Emmanuel Macron. She was notably Secretary of State for the Budget between 2000 and 2002 in the government of Lionel Jospin. However, throughout the five-year term she displayed the image of a technician, acting more as a manager of the armies and their budget than as a strategist.
Socialist by origin (she joined the PS in 1995) Florence Parly was also deputy general director at Air France from 2008 to 2014, then general director of strategies and finances at SNCF and general director of SNCF Voyageur from May 1, 2016 to nomination. Once considered for Matignon, she was finally reappointed in July 2020.
This “man of the field and networks”, according to Le Figaro, is recognized for his political intelligence. One of the rare guests at the prestigious Siècle dinner, he is an evening visitor to some old political figures from both the left and the right, from Laurent Fabius to Nicolas Sarkozy. We also praised his political qualities alongside Nicolas Hulot during the Ecological Transition, at the start of the five-year term. Sébastien Lecornu would then have managed the least rewarding part of the job: field policy, relations with elected officials but also with hunters, as well as some hot issues such as the closure of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant or the burial of nuclear waste.
Benalla, Guadeloupe… A few missteps
Almost his only misstep in government: the crisis in Guadeloupe at the end of last year, which turned into riots against the compulsory vaccination of caregivers and firefighters against Covid-19. Sébastien Lecornu has been criticized for being too rigid in the face of demands, in this crisis which will make Emmanuel Macron very unpopular on the island. As proof: the head of state obtained only 13.43% in the first round of the presidential election and 30.40% in the second, crushed by Marine Le Pen on April 24 (he won with 30.22% and 75.13% in 2017). A situation which was repeated in Martinique, Reunion Island, and even in Guyana.
An evening in New Caledonia, during which barrier gestures would have been neglected, will also put Minister Lecornu in an uncomfortable position for a while, just like the rejection by the elected representatives of Mayotte of his bill for the archipelago. A snub for the executive. Sébastien Lecornu was also cited despite himself on the sidelines of the Benalla affair, since as a reserve lieutenant of the gendarmerie, it was he who commanded the platoon in which the former Elysée mission manager intervened on May 1, 2018, during protests in the capital.
What are the origins of Sébastien Lecornu?
Born on June 11, 1986 in Val-d’Oise, Sébastien Lecornu comes from a middle-class family. His parents, a medical secretary mother who became a stay-at-home mother and a technician father at Snecma thanks to evening classes, “bled” themselves so that he could study in Paris, in his own words. Holder of a law degree before joining Panthéon-Assas, he was, in his youth, marked by his grandfather, a resistance fighter “covered in decorations”, or a great-uncle, shot by the SS after having been tortured by Gestapo. A fascination which will encourage him to initially move towards a military career, before turning towards politics.
“At 7-8 years old, I did all the patriotic ceremonies. It was through history that I got into politics,” Sébastien Lecornu confided on this subject in the press a few years ago. Described as unbeatable when it comes to dissecting army ranks, this reserve lieutenant of the gendarmerie has undoubtedly realized, with the Ministry of Defense, a dream that he would never have imagined.
What is the role of the Minister of Defense?
The Minister of National Defense and the Armed Forces is responsible for “the preparation and implementation of the defense policy” of France according to the ministry website. A responsibility that he assumes, with the Prime Minister, before Parliament. A major objective is entrusted to the Minister of the Armed Forces: “ensure the protection of the national territory, the population and French interests throughout the world”. The fact remains that the Minister of Defense has a special position, the President of the Republic officially remaining the head of the armed forces (air force, army and navy). He must also work in harmony with the Prime Minister who is guarantor of government action in the entire field of defense and national security.
This situation very often makes the Minister of Defense a manager of the armies more than a military leader, with a thankless role: defining, defending and assuming a budget each year for the armies, with often highly debated programming of personnel, equipment and infrastructures. The organization of the armies as well as the directorates and services of the ministry is in fact one of its main skills. The minister is also in charge of “affairs relating to veterans and victims of war, the link between the armies and the nation, the military reserve and questions relating to repatriates”.
The Minister of Defense has also been mobilized in recent years on another of her responsibilities: the “contribution of the army health service to public health policy”, with in particular the use of field hospitals during the Covid crisis in spring 2020. Its crucial mission at the moment and in the coming weeks is to participate in international negotiations relating to defense.
The Minister of the Armed Forces is traditionally assisted by one or more Secretaries of State or delegated ministers, as is very often the case in the Veterans Affairs portfolio. But he is also surrounded by several key representatives, “directorates” and specialized “offices”, such as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, a General Delegate for Armaments (DGA) or even a General Directorate of Security. external (DGSE).