French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Oct. 6, which was subsequently accepted. Having served for only 27 days, Lecornu has become the shortest-serving prime minister of the French Fifth Republic and the seventh prime minister to step down during Macron's presidency.
France is once again mired in a political crisis. In a social media post on the evening of Oct. 6, Lecornu stated that he was tasked by Macron with conducting a final round of negotiations with various political parties over two days to safeguard national stability. He is expected to report the results to Macron on the evening of Oct. 8, who will then make necessary decisions based on the outcome.
Opposition Rejects New Government Lineup
In his post-resignation address, Lecornu stated that he had been in communication with political parties and representatives from various sectors of society, hoping to pass next year's budget and social security budget at the National Assembly level. He expressed willingness to compromise with opposition parties but accused them of disregarding the progress made in negotiations, prioritizing partisan struggles for the 2027 presidential election over national interests. Given that the current conditions are not feasible, he stated he could no longer continue as prime minister.
French media pointed out that the immediate trigger for Lecornu's sudden resignation was the strong criticism from the opposition following the announcement of the first list of members for the new government on the evening of Oct. 5. This list also sparked significant disagreement within the government and the ruling coalition.
Most key ministerial positions in the new government lineup remained unchanged, with only a few posts, including the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Economy and Finance, seeing changes. The newly appointed Minister of Defense is former Finance Minister Le Maire, who has faced widespread criticism from the opposition. Both the far-right National Rally leader Bardella and the far-left "Unbowed France" leader Mélenchon pointed out that the new government members merely represent a continuation of the previous administration, with no substantive differences, and threatened to impeach the government during this week's National Assembly session.
More critically, the retained chairman of The Republicans party and Interior Minister Bruno Le Maire stated that Lecornu's appointment list clearly violated previous promises made to The Republicans regarding a "break" from the previous government. Le Maire hinted that he might resign from the government.
Minor factions within the ruling coalition, such as the Democratic Movement and the Union of Democrats and Independents, also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the list, viewing it as strengthening the president's party at the expense of allied interests. They explicitly stated their intention to withdraw from the ruling coalition.
Lecornu Tasked with "Final Negotiations"
The French presidential palace announced that Macron has instructed Lecornu to conduct "final negotiations" to "build an actionable and stable platform for the nation." Sources close to Macron informed French media that if the negotiations fail, Macron will "take responsibility." Agence France-Presse analysis suggests this implies Macron may dissolve the National Assembly again.
Several left-wing parties, including the Socialist Party, stated they would hold emergency meetings on the afternoon of the 6th to discuss next steps and strategies. The right-wing Republicans party convened a high-level meeting to discuss countermeasures, with party member and former Prime Minister Barnier urging all parties to "remain calm" and "consider the interests of the French people."
Bardella urged Macron to dissolve the National Assembly again, stating that Lecornu, as prime minister, had "no room for maneuver." Mélenchon, in a social media post, called for the National Assembly to immediately review a motion to impeach Macron proposed by 104 legislators.
News of Lecornu's resignation quickly impacted financial markets. According to French media reports, the yield on France's 10-year government bonds surged by over 9 basis points during trading on the 6th, exceeding 3.6% and approaching highs seen during the 2011 European debt crisis. The Paris CAC 40 index opened down 2%.
French newspaper Les Échos noted that the prime minister's resignation has once again stalled the progress of the 2026 budget bill, raising concerns about the prospects for fiscal consolidation.
Macron Faces Three Choices
Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called for snap elections in June last year. French media analysis suggests the new National Assembly is divided into three highly polarized blocs: the left-wing New Ecological and Social People's Union holds the most seats, followed by Macron's ruling coalition, with the National Rally ranking third. The policies of these three blocs are "sharply opposed," making compromise difficult.
The prime minister is responsible to the parliament, which can vote to impeach the prime minister. As the ruling coalition holds far fewer than half of the seats in the National Assembly, the opposition can easily pass a vote to impeach the prime minister. Lecornu previously admitted that he was an "extremely weak" prime minister.
Le Monde analysis suggests that facing this political crisis, Macron has three options. The first is to appoint a new prime minister. However, given the difficulty in securing support from either the left-wing or far-right blocs, the duration of any new prime minister's term remains uncertain.
The second option is to dissolve the National Assembly again and call for snap legislative elections. The risk is that dissolving the assembly could repeat the results of last year's parliamentary elections, further strengthening the opposition parties in parliament.
The third option is for Macron to resign himself. While this possibility is small, it cannot be entirely ruled out. Macron has publicly stated that he will not resign before the 2027 presidential election.
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