French PM Lecornu’s budget bet starts to pay off

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has won his first bet. On Tuesday, December 9, his government successfully passed a social security budget in the Assemblée Nationale despite not having a majority. Lecornu, the self-described “weakest prime minister of the Fifth Republic,” accomplished what all his predecessors since 2022 had failed. He proved that his method, based on seeking a parliamentary compromise with the…