French outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed political egos and 'partisan appetites' for the quick collapse of his government.Stephane Mahe/Reuters
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stunned the country by resigning on Monday, barely a day after announcing his cabinet, plunging France into further political turmoil.
Mr. Lecornu had been in office only a month and was the third prime minister to resign in the past year. His departure – hours before his first cabinet meeting – will pile more pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron to either find someone else who can form a government or call parliamentary elections.
Late Monday, Mr. Macron instructed Mr. Lecornu to hold further discussions with other political leaders over the next two days "in order to define a platform for action and stability for the country." In a post on X, Mr. Lecornu said he would report back to Mr. Macron Wednesday evening on “whether this is possible or not, so that he can draw all the necessary conclusions.”
France's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his new cabinet, after allies and foes alike threatened to topple his government, driving French stocks and the euro sharply lower.
Reuters
Mr. Lecornu’s announcement rattled financial markets and sent the value of the euro down nearly 1 per cent against the U.S. dollar early in the day.
The CAC 40 index – France’s benchmark stock index – fell as much as 2.1 per cent on Monday before closing down 1.4 per cent. Shares in France’s largest banks — BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole — closed down more than 3 per cent.
The revolving door of prime ministers has meant that parliament has been unable to pass a budget, leaving Europe’s second-largest economy adrift. Successive prime ministers, including Mr. Lecornu, have been grappling with France’s soaring debt, which is on track to reach 116.7 per cent of gross domestic product in 2026, the highest in the euro zone. The country’s budget deficit is also nearly double the 3-per-cent-of-GDP target set by the European Union.
In a speech on Monday announcing his departure, Mr. Lecornu blamed political egos and “partisan appetites” for the quick collapse of his government.
The National Assembly in Paris. Mr. Lecornu had only been in office a month and is the third prime minister to resign in the last year.Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters
“Being prime minister is a difficult task, undoubtedly even more difficult at this time. But one cannot be prime minister when the conditions are not met,” he said. He added that “As of this Monday morning, the conditions were no longer met for me to exercise my functions as prime minister.”
Mr. Lecornu said he was willing to compromise but that other political leaders were not. “And, basically, I found myself in a situation where I was ready to compromise, but each political party wants the other political party to adopt its entire program.”
His decision to name Bruno Le Maire as Minister of the Armed Forces appears to have led to the breakup of the cabinet. Mr. Le Maire, a former finance minister, had ruled out returning to cabinet. His appointment by Mr. Lecornu, a close ally, caused an outcry among many MPs, including the Republicans, a conservative party that had agreed to be part of the new government.
Republican leader Bruno Retailleau said on Monday that he hadn’t been told that Mr. Le Maire would be part of the cabinet. The former finance minister’s return meant there would be no clear break from his policies, Mr. Retailleau said. “We had no other choice but to re-examine this participation in light of the message carried by the composition of this government,” he told French television.
The divisions illustrate the deep fractures in the National Assembly where no party or coalition commands a majority. Ever since Mr. Macron called a snap election in June, 2024, the parliament has been divided into three groups: a far-left block, led by France Insoumise, or France Unbowed; Mr. Macron’s centrist alliance, called Ensemble; and a coalition of far-right parties led by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
French politics remained highly unpredictable on Monday, a political analyst said, after the country's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned only hours after naming the members of his new cabinet.
Reuters
As President, Mr. Macron has the responsibility of naming a prime minister, and since the election, none have been able to pass a budget or remain in office for long. So far, all of his choices have been allies of his centrist party, but he could appoint a Socialist or someone from the moderate left.
However, the division and animosity have become so entrenched that it’s hard to see how anyone will be able to form a stable administration. As a result, calls have been growing for Mr. Macron to call an election. Some MPs have also called on him to resign as President.
“The only wise thing to do now is to hold elections,” Ms. Le Pen told reporters on Monday. “The joke’s gone on long enough. French people are fed up. Macron has put the country in an extremely difficult position.”
France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also blamed Mr. Macron for being “the origin of the chaos” and said he should resign. It was time for “taking the heart of the problem head on, that is to say the President of the Republic and his legitimacy to continue to decide in such circumstances,” Mr. Mélenchon added.
Marc Fesneau, president of the centre-right Democratic Movement, said in a post on X that he was “ashamed of our political life.”
“I want to say things as they are. Individual irresponsibility, presidential ambitions, and petty calculations are plunging the country into chaos. In the end, the only victims will be the French people,” he said.