France was thrown into fresh political turmoil on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than a month into the job, becoming the country’s fifth head of government in under two years. The announcement came just a day after his cabinet was unveiled and sparked renewed calls for early elections from opposition parties.
“The conditions were not fulfilled for me to carry on as prime minister,” Lecornu said in a brief statement outside the Hôtel de Matignon, the official residence he had occupied for barely four weeks. He denounced what he described as an atmosphere of entrenched political hostility, accusing parties in the National Assembly of refusing to compromise in the face of mounting national challenges.
Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron and former armed forces minister, met with the president for an hour at the Elysée Palace before tendering his resignation. The Elysée confirmed the decision shortly afterward, catching much of the French political establishment off guard.
The resignation marks a dramatic end to Lecornu’s short-lived premiership, which began only 26 days earlier when he replaced François Bayrou after the previous government collapsed following a budget defeat in parliament. His government faced immediate criticism for retaining many of the same ministers from Bayrou’s team, angering lawmakers across the political spectrum who had already voted down the previous administration.
Leaders of opposition parties wasted no time in seizing on the chaos to demand new elections. “The only wise thing to do now is to hold elections,” declared Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally. “The joke has gone on long enough. French people are fed up. Macron has put the country in an extremely difficult position.” Some opposition figures went further, calling for Macron himself to resign, though the president has consistently said he intends to serve his full term until 2027.
In his resignation speech, Lecornu lashed out at what he called the “partisan appetites” of France’s political factions. He argued that opposition parties were acting as if they held absolute majorities, demanding the adoption of their full programs rather than seeking compromise. “I was ready for compromise, but all parties wanted the other party to adopt their programmes in their entirety,” he said. “It wouldn’t need much for this to work, but it requires humility and the ability to cast some egos aside.”
French politics has been locked in deadlock since July 2024, when snap elections left parliament fractured without a clear majority for any bloc. The hung parliament has made it nearly impossible for successive prime ministers to pass legislation, exposing deep divisions over how to tackle France’s economic problems.
Bayrou’s administration fell in September after parliament rejected his austerity budget, which aimed to cut €44 billion in spending. The defeat underscored the difficulty of governing amid competing demands from the left and right, both of whom accused the government of pursuing policies that either hurt ordinary workers or failed to address the deficit.
The financial crisis looms large over the political instability. France’s budget deficit ballooned to 5.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2024, while the national debt soared to 114 percent of GDP, placing it among the most indebted countries in the eurozone after Greece and Italy. Economists warn that the debt burden, equal to nearly €50,000 for every French citizen, is unsustainable without drastic reforms.
Markets reacted swiftly to the latest resignation. Shares on the Paris exchange fell sharply Monday morning, with investors unnerved by the possibility of prolonged instability and doubts over the government’s ability to push through fiscal reforms. Analysts said the selloff reflected fears that France could soon face pressure from European partners to rein in spending or risk losing credibility on financial markets.
For Macron, Lecornu’s departure is another political setback that highlights his diminishing control over a fragmented parliament. Despite repeated calls for unity and dialogue, the president has struggled to find a leader capable of navigating the fractured political environment and building coalitions broad enough to sustain a government.
Lecornu’s downfall underscores the fragility of Macron’s political project, which once promised to transcend traditional left-right divisions but is now bogged down by the very partisanship it sought to overcome. The president’s camp has defended Lecornu as a pragmatic and loyal figure who attempted to bridge divides but was ultimately defeated by entrenched opposition.
The crisis has also heightened speculation about Macron’s future options. While the president has ruled out resigning, pressure is mounting for him to dissolve parliament once again and call fresh elections, despite the risk that they could further empower extremist parties and deepen instability.
For the opposition, Lecornu’s resignation provides an opportunity to sharpen their attacks on Macron. Left-wing leaders accuse the president of clinging to power while ignoring popular demands for fairer policies, while the right portrays him as incapable of providing stable leadership at a time of economic crisis.
Meanwhile, ordinary French citizens face mounting uncertainty as political chaos compounds their economic hardships. Rising prices, energy shortages, and public disillusionment with the political class have all fueled discontent. Protesters in Paris and other cities have already taken to the streets demanding solutions rather than political maneuvering.
The abrupt fall of yet another prime minister has left France at a crossroads. With no clear successor and little sign of compromise in parliament, the country faces weeks if not months of political wrangling. The crisis underscores the fragility of governance in Europe’s second-largest economy and raises pressing questions about how long Macron can maintain authority in the face of mounting resistance.
