Sébastien Lecornu resigned as prime minister of France only a day after taking office, leaving Emmanuel Macron facing yet another leadership crisis.
Political turmoil in France deepened on Monday as Sébastien Lecornu resigned as prime minister barely 24 hours after announcing his cabinet. Emmanuel Macron, the president, accepted his resignation in a brief statement from the Élysée Palace, calling the decision “irrevocable.”
The announcement caught government members off guard. Several ministers canceled their public agendas, awaiting Macron’s next move. Lecornu’s resignation marks the third fall of a prime minister in less than a year — a sign of the ongoing instability within the French government.
The immediate cause of the resignation was internal pressure from The Republicans, the main conservative ally in the ruling coalition.
Party leader Bruno Retailleau voiced strong opposition to the new cabinet lineup and threatened to withdraw support, effectively leaving Lecornu without a parliamentary base. With no majority to govern, his position became untenable.
The political crisis has further weakened Macron’s leadership. Far-right National Rally president Jordan Bardella demanded the dissolution of the National Assembly, saying the government “lacks direction and legitimacy.”
Fellow right-wing figure Marine Le Pen praised Lecornu’s decision, calling it “a politically intelligent move” and claiming that “the institutional farce has gone on long enough.”
On the left, Mathilde Panot of La France Insoumise declared that “the countdown to the end of Macronism has begun.” Party founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon demanded an immediate review of the motion signed by over 100 deputies to remove Emmanuel Macron from office.
Adding to the pressure, Cannes mayor David Lisnard urged Macron to “consider his resignation in the national interest, to preserve the integrity of French institutions.”
Lecornu had been appointed on September 9 to stabilize the government after the fall of François Bayrou, who was ousted by Parliament following a failed confidence vote. Yet the attempt to reset Macron’s administration quickly collapsed.
Among Lecornu’s top challenges was passing an austerity budget for next year through a deeply divided legislature. His two predecessors — Bayrou and Michel Barnier — were both forced out after clashing with lawmakers over fiscal plans.
France is also struggling with record public debt, exceeding 110% of GDP — the third-highest ratio in the European Union, behind only Greece and Italy. Macron’s austerity measures have faced fierce criticism for their social impact and perceived disconnect from working-class realities.
The current political deadlock traces back to Macron’s ill-fated decision to call early parliamentary elections in 2024 in a bid to strengthen his authority. The move backfired, leaving his centrist bloc without a majority and handing more power to the extremes.
With Lecornu’s resignation, France faces yet another period of political uncertainty. As the country braces for possible new elections, Emmanuel Macron must find a leader capable of restoring both parliamentary balance and public confidence in a government that seems increasingly fragile.
