French PM Lecornu resigns hours after forming cabinet

President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had tendered his resignation on the morning of Monday, October 6, hours after his new government had been formed.

Lecornu’s resignation after 27 days in office, making him the shortest-lived prime minister in modern French history, plunges the country into political uncertainty again.

“Mr. Sébastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his government to the president of the republic which he accepted,” the French presidency said in a terse statement.

On Sunday evening, Lecornu had unveiled his cabinet, which was almost identical to that of his fallen predecessor, François Bayrou.

But cracks were apparent right away, with members of several parties within the governing coalition expressing doubts and criticism about the lack of change.

“The conditions were not fulfilled for me to carry out my function as prime minister,” Lecornu said in a statement, denouncing the “partisan appetites” of factions who he said had forced his resignation.

“It would take little for it to work,” Lecornu said in his resignation speech. “By being more selfless for many, by knowing how to show humility. One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”

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The French far right’s leader Marine Le Pen urged snap parliamentary elections. “A dissolution [of the Assemblée Nationale] is absolutely necessary,” said Le Pen. She added it would be “wise” for President Emmanuel Macron to resign, a move the president has previously ruled out.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, called to introduce a motion to remove Macron from office. Mathilde Panot, a prominent member of LFI, called for Macron’s resignation following Lecornu’s resignation. “The countdown has begun. Macron must go,” she said, in a post on X.

Socialist and Communist officials called on Macron to appoint a left-wing prime minister, a recurring demand since the combined left emerged with more seats than any other bloc in the 2024 elections.

Meanwhile, the Paris stock market had slipped by around 1.3% at midday. Shares in French banks BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole all shed around 3% in afternoon trading.

Macron’s seventh PM

In early September, Macron named 39-year-old Lecornu as the seventh prime minister of his presidency in a bid to defuse a deepening political crisis. Macron opted for one of his closest allies rather than seeking to broaden the government’s appeal across the political spectrum.

Lecornu, a former defense minister, had faced the daunting task of finding approval in a deeply divided parliament for an austerity budget for next year. Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors, Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the Assemblée Nationale in a standoff over the spending plan. France’s public debt has reached a record high, official data showed last week. France’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now the European Union’s third-highest after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the 60% permitted under EU rules.

French politics has been in turmoil since Macron gambled on snap elections last summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority. The move backfired, producing a Parliament fractured between three rival blocs.

Previous governments had rammed the last three annual budgets through Parliament without a vote, a method allowed by the constitution but deeply criticised by the opposition. But Lecornu promised last week to ensure lawmakers were able to vote on the bill.

For almost a month, Lecornu held a series of consultations with centrist allies and opposition leaders, on both the left and right, aiming to agree on a non-aggression pact in parliament and adopt the budget. No party has enough seats to govern on its own.

Most parties on the left had announced plans to back a vote of no confidence, with Le Pen’s far-right threatening to back it too.