French PM resigns hours after forming government, deepening political crisis

President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his new government submitted their resignation just hours after being formed.

Lecornu’s resignation after a 27-day tenure makes him the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history, plunging the country back into political uncertainty.

The French presidency said in a brief statement, “Sébastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his government to the president, who has accepted it.”

On Sunday evening, Lecornu had announced his cabinet, which was nearly identical to that of his outgoing predecessor, François Bayrou.

Cracks immediately appeared as members of some parties in the ruling coalition expressed their doubts and criticism over the lack of changes.

In a statement, Lecornu said, “The conditions for me to carry out my duties as prime minister were not met,” condemning the “partisan demands” of the groups that forced his resignation.

It is not yet clear what path Macron will take. The president has so far resisted calls for new snap elections and has also refused to resign before his term ends in 2027.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party immediately called for new elections. “Macronism is dead. Macron must now make a choice: dissolution [of the National Assembly] or resignation, and he must do it quickly!” the party said in a post on X.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI), called for a motion to be filed to remove Macron from office. Mathilde Panot, a leading member of LFI, demanded Macron’s resignation following Lecornu’s, stating, “The countdown has begun. Macron must go.”

The Paris stock exchange fell by more than 2% at 10 a.m., half an hour after the news was announced.

In early September, Macron had appointed the 39-year-old Lecornu as the seventh prime minister of his presidency in an attempt to calm a deepening political crisis. Instead of broadening the government’s appeal across the political spectrum, Macron opted for one of his closest allies.

French politics has been in turmoil since Macron took the risk of calling snap elections last summer in the hope of strengthening his authority. The move backfired, resulting in a hung parliament divided among three rival blocs.

Lecornu, the former defense minister, had faced the difficult task of securing approval for next year’s austerity budget in a deeply divided parliament.

Lecornu’s predecessors, Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the National Assembly due to disagreements over the spending plan.

According to official data, France’s public debt reached a record high last week. France’s debt-to-GDP ratio is the third highest in the European Union, after Greece and Italy, and is nearly double the 60% permitted under EU rules.

Previous governments had passed the last three annual budgets through parliament without a vote, a method permitted by the constitution but fiercely criticized by the opposition. However, Lecornu had promised last week that he would allow lawmakers to vote on the bill.

For nearly 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 pass the budget.

No single party has enough seats to form a government alone. Most parties on the left had announced plans to support a no-confidence vote, and the RN had also indicated it would back it.