As France welcomes its new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, a loyal ally of President Emmanuel Macron, the nation is quickly discovering an unusual personal quirk.
The 39-year-old, who maintained a remarkably low profile before ascending to one of the country’s top political offices, has been observed in his initial days in power opting for gentle head-butts with male colleagues, rather than the traditional French greeting of multiple cheek kisses.
This distinctive habit, while not entirely unprecedented, has certainly set French media abuzz. Journalists are now delving into the Prime Minister’s pre-political past, unearthing details such as his teenage contemplation of becoming a monk.
Le Monde and other French publications say Lecornu’s way of greeting people — mostly men, but sometimes women, too — with soft temple-to-temple bumps stems from time he spent at Saint-Wandrille Abbey, a community of about 30 Benedictine monks in the Normandy region northwest of Paris.
The naturally discreet Lecornu, citing reasons both personal and professional, has said he finds it difficult to talk publicly about what attracted him to the possibility of joining them.
“I don’t like to talk about it, but it’s true,” he said, drawing a deep breath, when asked in 2024 on France’s Television’s “Quelle époque !” chat show whether it was accurate that he had considered becoming a Benedictine monk.
The host, Léa Salamé, quickly followed up.
“What moved you above all is the manner the monks have of greeting each other, forehead to forehead,” she said.
“Oh, not just that,” replied the then-defense minister.
“I had a moment in my adolescent life, a period of discernment, as we say, but which is a very intimate period. I don’t really like talking about that because, for one, I represent the state as a minister and the state is neutral. And so I am a great defender of secularism.”
He then added: “Since you asked me the question: Yes, when I was 16.”
The Benedictines are a spiritual family of mostly contemplative monks that is considered the oldest religious order in the Latin rite Catholic Church. It dates to 529 AD and follows the Rule governing monastic life attributed to St. Benedict of Norcia.
Catholic priests do variations of the temple-to-temple greeting when exchanging the sign of peace at Mass. Often, they grab one another’s forearms and lean in, side to side in a modified kiss-kiss greeting that avoids touching and almost resembles a fashionista air kiss.
When Lecornu took office on Wednesday, greeting government colleagues at a handover of power at Matignon, the office of France’s premiers, he gave traditional two-cheeked “bises” kisses to female colleagues, including Catherine Vautrin, the labor minister in the outgoing government, and Rachida Dati, who served as culture minister.
But male colleagues, including outgoing Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, got temple-to-temple bumps from the new government boss who has yet to name his new Cabinet.
Lecornu also gave a temple-to-temple greeting to senior presidential aide Patrice Faure at a meeting that evening.
Jean-Louis Langlois, a civilian volunteer at the more than 1,300-year-old Saint-Wandrille Abbey, told The Associated Press on Friday that the temple-to-temple contact is called an accolade.
“Tilting your head to the right, and the temple touches that of the other, on the side of the face, at the moment when we exchange a sign of peace,” said Langlois, who hasn’t met Lecornu.
“It is a very beautiful gesture,” he said.
