Well, that didn’t last long. France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down just 26 days after taking the job — and less than a day after revealing his cabinet.
“The conditions weren’t right for me to continue,” Lecornu said Monday morning, after meeting with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. He took a swipe at political parties for refusing to compromise, saying they were acting like each had “an absolute majority.”
Lecornu’s government immediately ran into trouble. Lawmakers across the political spectrum slammed his cabinet — which looked a lot like the previous one — and threatened to bring it down.
His resignation leaves Macron facing yet another political headache. Since 2024, France has been stuck with a fractured parliament where no one seems able (or willing) to work together. Lecornu was the *fifth* prime minister in under two years — and one of Macron’s most loyal allies.
Now, Macron has three options:
- Try to appoint yet another prime minister.
- Dissolve parliament again and call new elections.
- Or, theoretically, resign himself — though that last one’s a long shot.
Most analysts think new elections are the most likely next step, even though polls suggest Macron’s centrist bloc could face a heavy defeat, and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) would likely make major gains.
Le Pen didn’t hold back after the news: “The joke’s gone on long enough. The French people are fed up. Macron has put the country in an extremely difficult position,” she said, calling for new elections. In his brief farewell outside the Hôtel de Matignon, Lecornu sounded weary but defiant:
“I was ready for compromise, but all parties wanted others to adopt their entire programs. It wouldn’t need much for this to work — just a bit more humility and fewer egos.”
Meanwhile, markets reacted quickly. Paris stocks tumbled after the resignation, reflecting investor worries over the country’s growing political instability — and its soaring public debt, now over 114% of GDP.
For France, the political carousel keeps spinning. The question now: who’s willing to take the next ride?
