France’s Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has resigned after less than a month in the job, plunging the country further into political turmoil. French President Emmanuel Macron has accepted his resignation, the Elysee Palace confirmed on Monday.
Mr Lecornu’s resignation comes just hours after he appointed his cabinet — and after political rivals threatened to topple his government. The sudden departure of France’s seventh prime minister in just two years has sent shockwaves through French politics and financial markets, with the euro and French stocks dropping sharply following the announcement.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Lecornu announced he had appointed his ministers, with the new cabinet set to hold its first meeting on Monday afternoon. However, the line-up angered political allies and opponents alike, who either criticised that it was too right-wing or not right-wing enough, raising questions over how long it could last in a fragmented parliament where no party holds a majority.
“I Was Ready to Compromise”
In his resignation speech, Mr Lecornu said political parties in France were all behaving as if they had their own majority in parliament. “I was ready to compromise, but each political party wanted the other political party to adopt its entire programme,” he said in a speech in the courtyard of Matignon Palace, the French prime minister’s headquarters.
The 39-year-old, an ally of Mr Macron, was the seventh prime minister appointed by the president — and the fifth in just two years. His sudden resignation on Monday morning after just 27 days in office was unexpected and unprecedented, resulting in more turmoil amid France’s ongoing political crisis.
Calls for Macron’s Impeachment and New Elections
After Mr Lecornu resigned, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of far-left France Unbowed, said his party was calling for the impeachment of Mr Macron. Meanwhile, the far-right National Rally immediately urged Mr Macron to call another snap election or resign.
“There can be no return to stability without a return to the polls and the dissolution of the National Assembly,” National Rally co-leader Jordan Bardella said. His comments reflected mounting frustration across the political spectrum with France’s deepening instability.
Marine Le Pen, who heads National Rally alongside Mr Bardella, added that “we are at the end of the joke, the farce has gone on long enough” as she echoed calls to dissolve the National Assembly. Her remarks underscored the severity of France’s political paralysis and the growing impatience amongst opposition leaders.
Financial Markets React Negatively
Mr Lecornu’s resignation triggered immediate consequences in financial markets. French stocks and the euro dropped sharply following the announcement, with investors spooked by the renewed political uncertainty.
French banks led a financial market sell-off, with Societe Generale down by more than 6 per cent on the CAC 40 in the moments after the announcement, whilst BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole were also sharply lower. The index was 1.5 per cent in the red.
The euro also fell back against sterling and the dollar, whilst French government borrowing costs, reflected on bond markets, hit levels last seen almost a month ago when the country was back in the same political stalemate. The market turbulence highlighted investor concerns about France’s political stability and economic prospects.
Fragmented Parliament Creates Instability
Since Mr Macron was re-elected in 2022, the parliament has been unstable, and the president’s decision to call a snap election last year further deepened the crisis by producing an even more fragmented parliament. No party holds a majority, making it extremely difficult for any prime minister to form a government capable of surviving confidence votes.
The fragmentation has left France in a state of political paralysis, with successive prime ministers unable to navigate the competing demands of parties across the political spectrum. Mr Lecornu’s attempt to form a cabinet that could satisfy multiple factions ultimately proved impossible within the current parliamentary arithmetic.
Unprecedented Governmental Instability
Mr Lecornu’s 27-day tenure represents an unprecedented level of governmental instability for modern France. As the fifth prime minister in just two years under Mr Macron’s presidency, his resignation highlights the severity of France’s constitutional crisis.
The rapid turnover of prime ministers has raised serious questions about President Macron’s ability to govern effectively for the remainder of his term, which runs until 2027. Opposition parties across the political spectrum are increasingly questioning whether the current political arrangement can continue.
What Happens Next
President Macron now faces the daunting task of appointing yet another prime minister who can command sufficient support in the fragmented National Assembly. However, the mathematical realities of the parliament make this extremely challenging, with no obvious candidate capable of uniting enough parties to form a stable government.
The president faces mounting pressure from both the far-left and far-right to either dissolve the National Assembly and call fresh elections, or to resign himself. However, constitutional rules prevent Macron from calling another parliamentary election until July at the earliest, potentially leaving France in political limbo for months.
The crisis has broader implications for France’s role in the European Union and its ability to address pressing domestic challenges including economic reform, immigration policy and public spending. International observers are watching closely as France, the EU’s second-largest economy, grapples with unprecedented political instability.
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Image Credit:
Sébastien Lecornu — official portrait, licensed under CC BY 4.0
