https://www.scmp.com/rss/524602/feed The latest news and top stories on Sébastien Lecornu, a French politician. Appointed Prime Minister of France on 9 September 2025, he previously served as Minister of the Armed Forces from May 2022. His extensive government experience includes roles as Minister of the Overseas, Minister for Local Authorities and Secretary of State for Ecological Transition. Lecornu began his political career with Nicolas Sarkozy's party before joining Emmanuel Macron's movement in 2017. He is known for his work... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse One of five French people flown back to France on Sunday from the cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak is showing symptoms of the illness, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. “On of them showed symptoms in the repatriation plane,” he posted on social media. “These five passengers have immediately been placed in strict isolation until further notice. “They are getting medical treatment and will have tests and a medical check-up,” he added. Lecornu also said he would issue... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353069/french-evacuee-hantavirus-hit-ship-shows-symptoms-pm-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353069/french-evacuee-hantavirus-hit-ship-shows-symptoms-pm-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 16:57:56 +0000 Raissa Robles Raissa Robles A visiting forces military deal to be signed between the Philippines and France has put the focus on “operational intimacy”, with observers noting that Paris has a presence in the Indo-Pacific and would serve Manila’s interests well in the contested waters of the South China Sea. The term was coined by French Ambassador to Manila Marie Fontanel, during a freewheeling discussion on Tuesday at her residence. In a bid to balance the implications of the alliance – a first for the Philippines with a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340187/philippines-france-near-defence-pact-boost-operational-intimacy-contested-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340187/philippines-france-near-defence-pact-boost-operational-intimacy-contested-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:38:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Farmers sprayed manure on government offices and kept up roadblocks in southern France on Sunday in protest against a mass cull of cows as officials urged Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to urgently intervene. Many farmers in southern and southwest France have been incensed by the use of police force and the government’s mass slaughter policy to contain the spread of nodular dermatitis, widely known as lumpy skin disease. Farmers have blocked roads after veterinarians on Friday slaughtered a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336412/french-farmers-spray-manure-keep-road-blocks-over-cow-mass-slaughter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336412/french-farmers-spray-manure-keep-road-blocks-over-cow-mass-slaughter?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 19:17:32 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant Shein is seeking dialogue with French authorities after Paris suspended the platform in a shock move on Wednesday. “Shein takes note of the government’s announcement today,” a spokesperson for the group told the Post. “We are committed to working with the French authorities to address any concerns swiftly, as we have always done, and we are seeking dialogue with the authorities and government bodies on this issue.” The announcement came as Shein opened its first... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3331690/chinese-retailer-shein-wants-dialogue-french-government-after-website-suspension?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3331690/chinese-retailer-shein-wants-dialogue-french-government-after-website-suspension?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:27:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu weathered two confidence motions on Thursday, just days after appointing his new government and making a key political concession to stay in power. The votes followed Lecornu’s decision on Tuesday to back suspending a divisive 2023 pension reform, in a bid to keep his cabinet afloat long enough to pass a much-needed austerity budget by year’s end. The leftist Socialist Party (PS) had threatened to vote to oust the premier if he didn’t move to freeze the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329263/french-pm-lecornu-survives-2-confidence-votes-days-after-reappointment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329263/french-pm-lecornu-survives-2-confidence-votes-days-after-reappointment?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 10:49:30 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Sebastien Lecornu to be France’s prime minister on Friday, giving the centrist ally another shot at naming a new cabinet and getting a budget through a fractious parliament. Lecornu must propose a 2026 budget on Monday to get the legislation adopted by the end of the year through the normal process. Otherwise, the National Assembly may need to pass an emergency bill to keep the government funded. The reappointment is a last-gasp attempt to find political... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328611/macron-reappoints-sebastien-lecornu-frances-pm-just-days-after-he-quit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328611/macron-reappoints-sebastien-lecornu-frances-pm-just-days-after-he-quit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 21:19:59 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu This week’s collapse of the French government – featuring the resignation of a prime minister after only 27 days in office – marks the latest twist in a protracted political crisis threatening to bring the powerful European economy to a halt as it grapples with unpopular budget measures, a deepening debt burden and stiff competition from the US and China. Former prime minister Sebastien Lecornu – now acting in a caretaker capacity after his Monday resignation set a modern record for briefness of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3327974/crisis-stricken-france-weighs-work-life-balance-against-overseas-competition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3327974/crisis-stricken-france-weighs-work-life-balance-against-overseas-competition?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse France’s new prime minister resigned on Monday after less than a month in office, sinking the country further into a political crisis and piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron to find a way out of the deadlock. Sebastien Lecornu stepped down just 14 hours after naming his government, and had been due to hold his first cabinet meeting in the afternoon. However, his new government had raised hackles across the spectrum before ministers even entered their new offices, and he risked an... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327998/french-prime-minister-lecornu-resigns-after-less-month-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327998/french-prime-minister-lecornu-resigns-after-less-month-office?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 08:01:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A French court is to try the Chinese captain of a tanker from Russia’s “shadow fleet” early next year, prosecutors said on Thursday, after it was intercepted off the coast of France. Boracay, a Benin-flagged vessel blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers, was stopped by French authorities on Saturday, according to a military source who asked not to be named. Shipping data showed it was positioned off Denmark during... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327659/france-arrests-crew-russian-shadow-fleet-tanker-linked-denmark-drone-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327659/france-arrests-crew-russian-shadow-fleet-tanker-linked-denmark-drone-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Oct 2025 10:35:58 +0000 SCMP SCMP Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China Rocket Force bans nearly 200 suppliers, evaluators after corruption probe The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force has terminated nearly 200 partnerships with experts and suppliers, following an investigation into procurement corruption covering the past nine years, as scrutiny of the troubled military branch continues. 2. Is China’s rare earths... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3325220/plas-rocket-force-probe-nasa-bars-chinese-citizens-us-visas-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3325220/plas-rocket-force-probe-nasa-bars-chinese-citizens-us-visas-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:15:13 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Images of burning barricades were shown side by side with the handover ceremony for France’s new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, on French television channels on Wednesday as “block everything” protests brought back memories of the rallies by the populist “yellow vest” movement that rocked the country in 2018 and 2019. More than 175,000 protesters hit the streets across France on the day of Lecornu’s inauguration, according to the country’s interior ministry. Its government collapsed on... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3325192/french-protests-underscore-deep-concerns-over-slow-decline-amid-us-china-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3325192/french-protests-underscore-deep-concerns-over-slow-decline-amid-us-china-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:00:05 +0000