France's Political Turmoil Deepens as New Prime Minister Resigns Just Hours After Forming Government
PARIS — In a stunning turn of events that has sent shockwaves through French politics, Sébastien Lecornu, the newly appointed Prime Minister of France, stepped down less than a month after taking office—and astonishingly, less than 24 hours after unveiling his new Cabinet. This abrupt resignation has plunged the nation into an even deeper political crisis, leaving President Emmanuel Macron grappling with limited options to stabilize the government.
According to an official statement from the French presidency on Monday, Macron has accepted Lecornu’s resignation amid a backdrop of plummeting approval ratings, with the president facing some of the lowest poll numbers in his tenure.
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Lecornu had been appointed on September 9, replacing François Bayrou, marking him as the fourth prime minister in less than a year—a clear sign of the ongoing political instability gripping France. His tenure, though brief, has now set a record as the shortest in the history of the Fifth Republic, which was established in 1958.
The roots of this turmoil trace back to last year’s snap parliamentary elections called by Macron, which resulted in a highly fragmented National Assembly. No party holds a majority: far-right and left-wing factions collectively control over 320 seats, while centrists and their conservative allies hold just 210. This fractured legislature has created a political deadlock that has proven nearly impossible to break.
Despite Lecornu’s intense efforts over three weeks to build a coalition strong enough to avoid a no-confidence vote, his government collapsed mere hours after its formation. The decisive blow came when conservative allies, who control 50 seats, withdrew their support in protest against Lecornu’s appointment of Bruno Le Maire as defense minister—a move that sparked significant controversy.
In the interim, Lecornu’s Cabinet will continue to handle daily governmental operations until Macron appoints a new prime minister and Cabinet. The president now faces a critical decision: either name a new head of government or dissolve the National Assembly and call for early elections.
Lecornu, a loyal Macron supporter, expressed that the political conditions necessary for his leadership no longer existed after failing to forge a consensus. He suggested that with just a bit more cooperation and a touch of "selflessness" from coalition partners—particularly a pointed reference to Bruno Retailleau, leader of the conservative Republicans party—the government might have succeeded.
"One must always put one’s country before one’s party," Lecornu emphasized, underscoring the tension between national interest and party politics.
Macron Under Fire: The Real Target of This Crisis?
With the next presidential election less than two years away, Macron’s political adversaries wasted no time seizing on Lecornu’s resignation. The far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, called for either immediate parliamentary elections or Macron’s resignation, arguing that the president’s resistance to dissolving the legislature has reached a dead end.
Le Pen declared, "This raises a question for the President of the Republic: can he continue to resist the legislature dissolution? We have reached the end of the road. There is no other solution. The only wise course of action in these circumstances is to return to the polls."
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the far-left party France Unbowed also demanded Macron’s departure, while other left-wing factions advocated for reviving a coalition of leftists, socialists, greens, and communists to counterbalance the current political deadlock.
The political upheaval rattled financial markets as well, with the CAC-40 index of leading French companies tumbling nearly 2% from its Friday close following the resignation, before partially recovering later.
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In a surreal twist, ministers who had just been appointed the night before suddenly found themselves relegated to caretaker roles—tasked only with managing routine affairs until a new government is formed, some even before they had officially taken office.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, recently reappointed as Minister for Ecology, voiced her frustration on social media, writing, "I despair of this circus."
Why Lecornu’s Strategy Failed
Lecornu’s Cabinet choices faced criticism from across the political landscape, especially his decision to reassign Bruno Le Maire, the former Finance Minister, to the defense portfolio. Critics pointed out that under Le Maire’s previous tenure, France’s public deficit ballooned, raising doubts about his suitability for the new role.
One of Lecornu’s primary challenges was to navigate France’s daunting budget crisis. By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the country’s public debt had soared to 3.346 trillion euros (approximately $3.9 trillion), representing 114% of the nation’s GDP. Servicing this debt consumes about 7% of the state’s annual spending, making fiscal management a critical and sensitive task.
Other key Cabinet positions remained largely unchanged: Bruno Retailleau continued as Interior Minister overseeing policing and internal security, Jean-Noël Barrot stayed on as Foreign Minister, and Gérald Darmanin retained the Justice Ministry.
Retailleau, leader of the conservative Republicans, distanced himself from responsibility for Lecornu’s downfall, despite openly criticizing the new government’s composition. He accused Lecornu of breaking trust by not informing him about Le Maire’s inclusion, stating on TF1, "It’s a matter of trust. You promise a break and end up with returning horses. This government embodied all the conditions to be censured."
In an attempt to build consensus, Lecornu had consulted extensively with political parties and trade unions before forming his Cabinet. He also pledged not to use a controversial constitutional power previously employed by his predecessors to push budgets through Parliament without a vote. Instead, he aimed to negotiate compromises with lawmakers from both the left and right.
This political drama raises a provocative question: Is France’s current parliamentary system capable of producing stable governments in such a polarized environment? Or does this crisis signal a deeper need for electoral or constitutional reform?
What do you think? Should Macron dissolve the National Assembly and call new elections, or is there a path to compromise within the current framework? Share your thoughts and join the conversation below.
Petrequin reported from London.
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