Which watch is Sébastien Lecornu wearing?

After Emmanuel Macron and his little army of French watches, Sarah Knafo’s Rolex, and Jordan Bardella’s timepieces, it was hard to resist taking a closer look at the wrist of another key figure of the moment: Sébastien Lecornu, former Minister of the Armed Forces turned Prime Minister.

Lecornu, a pure product of Macronism, has moved through Defence, Overseas France, local government, before landing at Matignon. A man who lives surrounded by flags, military budgets, and red numbers in Bercy’s Excel spreadsheets. And on his wrist? Not a Rolex, not a Patek, not a complication that would make the unions howl… but an old-school French watch steeped in the history of the Fifth Republic: the Lip Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm.

For a former Minister of the Armed Forces who has become Prime Minister, the nod is perfect: De Gaulle on the dial, Matignon in the in-tray, Defence on the CV. The symbolic alignment is almost Swiss in its precision.

Who is Sébastien Lecornu (and why his watch is a political message)

Born in 1986 and elected very young in Normandy, Sébastien Lecornu has climbed the steps of the Fifth Republic at a pace that would make an express lift blush: Secretary of State for the Ecological Transition, Minister for Local and Regional Authorities, Minister for Overseas France, then Minister of the Armed Forces from 2022, right as war returned to Europe.

In September 2025, Emmanuel Macron appoints him Prime Minister. He inherits a fractured country, a splintered Parliament, and a deficit swelling faster than a hypersonic missile. His mission: hold the line, manage the crisis, cut spending while claiming not to hurt. A tightrope act… with a Lip on the wrist.

In this context, wearing a French watch—military in name and symbolic in history—is anything but trivial. It’s the horological version of the official portrait in front of the blue-white-red flag.

Lip Général de Gaulle: a French watch steeped in history

A tribute collection to the General

The Général de Gaulle is one of Lip’s emblematic collections. Its name points to a very specific chapter in watchmaking and political history: in the 1950s, Fred Lip, the brand’s visionary boss, developed the first mass-produced electric wristwatch in history, powered by the R27 movement. This experimental watch—absolute avant-garde for its time—was presented notably to General de Gaulle, as well as to General Eisenhower.

With the “Général de Gaulle” line, Lip revisits that heritage in a contemporary key: gold-tone cases, sunburst dials, restrained design, and a transparent nod to the Gaullist imagination—independence, grandeur, national narrative. In other words, for a former Minister of the Armed Forces now installed at Matignon, the symbolism lands rather neatly.

Sébastien Lecornu’s version: Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm

The model worn by Sébastien Lecornu is the Lip Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm, ref. 671881. A compact, unisex watch that doesn’t try to dominate the wrist, but to dress it with a very French brand of classicism.

• Case: round, 316L stainless steel, finished with a polished gold-tone treatment, 35 mm in diameter. Today, that’s an almost “vintage” size, far from the aggressive 42 mm of modern chronographs.
• Thickness / presence: restrained, so it slips effortlessly under the cuff of a shirt or a Prime Minister’s dark suit.
• Water resistance: 50 m. Enough to survive showers on the steps of Matignon, but not amphibious manoeuvres with naval commandos.
• Caseback: screw-down and transparent, revealing the automatic movement. A very contemporary touch in an otherwise classic-looking watch.

Visually, the watch embraces its influences: a very 1960s gold-tone round case, elegant without being precious, evoking Gaullist sobriety more than the flashiness of bling-bling ministers.

Technical sheet: Lip Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm

Dial

• Dial: silver-white sunburst, with a play of light that adds depth without tipping into showiness.
• Indices: slim applied baton indices in black and gold.
• Hands: three gold-tone hands (hours, minutes, seconds), slim and legible.
• Complication: a small date window, practical, in a spirit of unapologetic minimalism.
• Crystal: flat sapphire, with anti-reflective treatment.

The result is a highly legible, very classic watch that doesn’t try to reinvent watch design, but masters it with quiet elegance. “The power of minimalism,” as Lip sums it up on its product sheet.

Movement

• Type: mechanical movement with automatic winding.
• Calibre: Miyota 8215 (Japanese), a reliable, simple, robust “workhorse”.
• Frequency: 21,600 vibrations/hour.
• Number of jewels: 21.
• Power reserve: around 42 hours when fully wound.
• Functions: three hands (hours, minutes, seconds), quick-set date, hacking seconds for precise setting.

This 8215 calibre is nothing spectacular, but it has one essential virtue: it works—reliably, for a long time, without fuss. For a head of government, that’s rather reassuring: better a mechanism that keeps running than a reform that stalls.

Strap

• Material: brown calf leather with a crocodile-style embossing.
• Details: tone-on-tone stitching, quick-release spring bars (for fast strap changes), gold-tone pin buckle signed Lip.

This strap reinforces the watch’s very “bourgeois Republic” aesthetic: brown leather, gold-tone case, light dial. It’s sensible, classic, almost timeless—the kind of watch that could appear in a black-and-white photo from the 1960s without offending the eye.

Price and positioning

• Indicative retail price: €449 incl. VAT on Lip’s official website at the time of writing.
• Positioning: entry- to mid-level automatic watch, made in Besançon, with an exhibition caseback and sapphire crystal.

For a Prime Minister, it’s almost an austerity gesture: a sub-€500 watch, made in France, with a proven movement—far from the five-figure sums you sometimes see strolling around the National Assembly. Let’s just say it’s not with this Lip that you’ll deepen the public deficit.

A Lip for a former Minister of the Armed Forces turned Prime Minister

The choice of this Général de Gaulle is anything but neutral. Even if we accept the most prosaic hypothesis—a gift, a personal preference for French vintage—the symbolism works perfectly.

• Link to Defence: the “Général de Gaulle” name evokes the military figure who became head of state, but also the deep bond between the armed forces and the Republic. For a former Minister of the Armed Forces, wearing that name on the wrist feels highly coherent.
• Made in France: a watch designed and assembled in Besançon, at the heart of French watchmaking. At a time when the government talks about reindustrialisation and sovereignty, wearing Lip rather than a Swiss or German brand sends a clear signal.
• Restraint and sobriety: 35 mm, a Miyota movement, €449. This isn’t a wealthy collector’s watch; it’s a serious, well-made piece that remains accessible to a significant share of the middle class.
• Gaullist symbolism: in a country that regularly goes looking for an old-school “statesman,” having “Général de Gaulle” on the caseback carries an almost programmatic weight. On the wrist, it’s a constant reminder of the Fifth Republic’s ultimate reference point.

You could say the Lip Général de Gaulle is to Lecornu what the Rolex Air-King is to Sarah Knafo: a watch that tells a political story as well as the time. Except that here, everything is French—from the name to the dial.

FAQ – Sébastien Lecornu’s watch

What watch does Sébastien Lecornu wear?

Sébastien Lecornu wears a Lip Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm (ref. 671881), a gold-tone automatic watch with a 35 mm case, silver-white sunburst dial, and brown crocodile-embossed leather strap.

What is the price of the Lip Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm?

On Lip’s official online store, the Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm is listed at €449 incl. VAT, with a Miyota 8215 automatic movement, sapphire crystal, and an exhibition caseback.

Where is Sébastien Lecornu’s watch made?

The Général de Gaulle Automatic 35 mm is made in France, in Besançon, the historic cradle of French watchmaking.

What movement powers the Lip Général de Gaulle 35 mm?

The watch is powered by a Miyota 8215 automatic mechanical movement, with 21 jewels, a frequency of 21,600 vph, and a power reserve of around 42 hours.

Is this watch choice coherent for a Prime Minister?

Symbolically, yes: a French watch, a restrained price, classic aesthetics, and the “Général de Gaulle” name echoing France’s military and political history. For a former Minister of the Armed Forces turned Prime Minister, it’s hard to find a timepiece more perfectly aligned with Republican storytelling.