French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu submitted his resignation on Monday, a mere 24 hours after appointing his new cabinet. This abrupt departure sent shockwaves across the nation, marking his administration as one of the briefest in France’s modern political history.
President Emmanuel Macron’s office confirmed in a concise statement that he had accepted Lecornu’s resignation.
Lecornu was scheduled to deliver a televised address later that morning. The reasons behind his sudden resignation remained unclear, but it occurred amidst significant unrest regarding the composition of his newly formed cabinet, a delicate blend of centrist and conservative figures.
This unexpected resignation immediately intensified demands from opposition parties, who are now pressuring President Macron to call for snap parliamentary elections.
A close confidant of Macron, Lecornu had only been appointed to the prime minister’s post less than a month prior. His exit marks him as the third prime minister to resign within a year, an almost unprecedented level of political upheaval in modern France.
A key factor in Lecornu’s resignation appears to be mounting concerns about his ability to pass the 2025 budget, crucial for addressing France’s escalating national debt and deficit. The lower house of Parliament remains deadlocked, as no single party achieved a working majority following the snap elections Macron himself called in 2024.
Jordan Bardella, president of the nationalist, anti-immigrant National Rally party — who learned of the resignation live on television — quickly seized the opportunity to blame Macron for the ongoing political instability, suggesting the President had “fallen back on his last supporters.”
Opposition factions have consistently accused Macron of resisting the appointment of a prime minister and cabinet capable of challenging his agenda, despite his centrist alliance suffering heavy losses in the recent snap elections.
“There can be no return to stability without a return to the ballot box,” Bardella asserted, echoing the sentiment of many critics.