France: Macron appoints Lecornu as new prime minister. Tomorrow at 12 noon the handover with Bayrou

"Macron's response to Bayrou's exit is absolutely the same from now on. Only the resignation of Macron himself can put an end to this sad comedy of contempt for Parliament, voters and political decency'. Thus on X Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Insoumise, commenting on the president's decision to appoint Sebastien Lecornu as the new French premier after the resignation of Francois Bayrou. Equally harsh were the words of the extreme right. For Marine Le Pen 'the president is firing the last cartridge of Macronism, entrenched with his little square of loyalists. After the inevitable legislative elections, the prime minister will be called Jordan Bardella'.

"Emmanuel Macron's motto: losing team does not change," writes the president of the Rassemblement National, Jordan Bardella, criticising the appointment of Sébastien Lecornu as France's new prime minister. "How could a loyal supporter of the President (Macron) abandon the policies he has pursued for eight years?" asked Bardella rhetorically, adding, "Our principles remain unchanged and the interests of the French people remain our only compass. It is not a question of people or casting, but of policies: we will judge - without illusions - the new prime minister on his merits, his actions, his leadership in preparing a budget for France and in the light of our red lines. We are at his disposal to remind him of them, on behalf of the millions of French people who are waiting and hoping for a change of government'.

Paris, with its third fallen government in a few years, pays more than Rome to finance itself on the bond markets. The value of ten-year Oats exceeds that of BTPs: some speak of an 'Italianisation' of France, with reference to the European sovereign debt crisis of 2011/2012 when Rome was the sick man; others fear the risk of a large-scale contagion in the other EU countries, the perfect storm. German Bocconi economist Daniel Gros disagrees: "The storm," he tells Adnkronos, "would be there if there were also a generalised financial crisis". According to the professor, 'the problems of Italy and the other peripheral countries at the time stemmed largely from a context of risk aversion and a weakened banking system'. An opposite situation to the current one: 'Today,' Gros explains, 'banks are strong and risk appetite remains high. So, for the time being, no storm, just a strong breeze'. A problem that is more political than economic: 'The French economic fundamentals are there: the political will is lacking.