In an interview with several French local newspapers published on Saturday, Lecornu announced that in the coming days his government will finally present the long-overdue energy programming law, a text that outlines France’s energy strategy until 2035 and which is coming more than two years late.
Lecornu said that the text would be adopted as a government decree by the end of the week. It will confirm the construction of six new nuclear reactors, with the option of building eight more, and set the goal of having 60 percent of energy consumption coming from electricity by 2030.
The prime minister also announced an update to the country’s multi-annual military programming law to reflect a €6.5 billion increase in defense spending in 2026.
Lecornu’s priorities include a reform to redefine the division of power between the central government, measures to fight the shortage of doctors and housing. The government on Sunday adopted new measures to fight fraud in the the existing health-care assistance mechanism for irregular foreigners — which the far-right National Rally wants to abolish.
As the race for succeeding to French President Emmanuel Macron in 2027 heats up, Lecornu repeated that he was not planning to run. He also confirmed that he will conduct a government reshuffle before the end of the so-called reserve period ahead of France’s municipal election, which means by Feb. 22.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who is running for mayor of Paris, is expected to quit the government together with other ministers.