Fourth prime minister in a year steps down amid political deadlock, market jitters, and calls for snap elections
PARIS (AP) — France was thrown into fresh political turmoil Monday as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than 24 hours after naming his government, capping a turbulent month in office and leaving President Emmanuel Macron scrambling to contain a growing crisis.
The French presidency confirmed that Macron had accepted Lecornu’s resignation, making him the fourth prime minister to step down in just over a year. Lecornu, a loyal ally of Macron, acknowledged that he had failed to build a workable consensus in an increasingly fractured parliament.
“It would take little for it to work,” Lecornu said in a sober resignation speech at the Hôtel Matignon. “By being more selfless for many, by knowing how to show humility. One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”
The resignation set off a political firestorm. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen immediately called for Macron to either dissolve the National Assembly and call snap elections or resign outright. “We have reached the end of the road,” she said. “The only wise course of action in these circumstances is to return to the polls.”
France Unbowed, the far-left opposition, also demanded Macron’s departure, while parties on the left renewed calls to revive a broad coalition of leftists, socialists, greens and communists.
The political shockwave rippled through financial markets, sending the CAC-40 index of leading French companies tumbling by nearly 2% from its Friday close.
The resignation left Lecornu’s newly appointed ministers in an unprecedented situation — serving as caretaker officials before some had even formally taken office. “I despair of this circus,” newly reappointed Ecology Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher wrote on X.
Lecornu’s cabinet choices had already faced widespread criticism. His decision to appoint former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as defence minister drew fire from across the spectrum, with opponents pointing to France’s ballooning public deficit under his watch.
Lecornu’s key task was to steer the 2026 budget through a fragmented National Assembly while grappling with soaring debt. As of Q1 2025, France’s public debt had reached €3.346 trillion ($3.9 trillion USD), or 114% of GDP, with debt servicing costs consuming 7% of state spending.
Many key cabinet posts remained unchanged from the previous government, including Bruno Retailleau at interior, Jean-Noël Barrot at foreign affairs, and Gérald Darmanin at justice.
Lecornu had pledged to pursue consensus-building in Parliament, rejecting the use of special constitutional powers employed by his predecessors to push budgets through without a vote. But despite consultations with unions and political factions, he was unable to secure sufficient backing.
France’s political instability stems from last year’s snap elections, which left Parliament deeply fragmented. Far-right and left-wing blocs control over 320 seats, while centrists and allied conservatives hold 210.
Lecornu’s abrupt resignation adds to Macron’s mounting challenges at home and abroad, and intensifies pressure on the president to either strike a new parliamentary deal or call fresh elections.