Sébastien Lecornu was appointed minister in June 2017 and gradually established himself in Emmanuel Macron's inner circle, cultivating the cult of discretion. Ammar Abd Rabbo/Abaca for Le Figaro
PORTRAIT – The Minister of the Armed Forces has gradually established himself in Emmanuel Macron's inner circle. So much so that some consider her the successor to Élisabeth Borne.
Special Envoy for Beirut and Deir Kifa (Lebanon)
Shake hands with everyone without forgetting a single one, improvise a speech without holding on to a card, agree to clink glasses as many times as suggested… These obligatory passages of politics are sometimes neglected in the Macronie, not However, in the Ministry of the Armed Forces, where Sébastien Lecornu at 37 years old plays a sophisticated score.
Among the 700 French soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL), the minister, who describes himself as a “neo-Gaullist,” takes “a side of the old school.” Full military songs, thunderous Marseillaise, masculine rites of the institution, perfectly adopted… The man, who is also colonel of the Gendarmerie Reserve – where he served alongside Alexandre Benalla – blends easily into the landscape. Under the amused look of General Joseph Aoun, the chief of staff of the Lebanese armies, whom he invited to a New Year's dinner with the blue helmets of Deir Kifa.
Since he…
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