France’s New PM Lecornu Resigns

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his government resigned Monday, deeply exacerbating a French political and economic crisis that is roiling financial markets and casting grave doubts over President Emmanuel Macron’s ability to govern.

Lecornu, who was appointed only a month ago, stepped down mere hours after naming key members of his cabinet. He now holds the dubious honor of being France's shortest-lived prime minister in the Fifth Republic, taking the record from Michel Barnier, who lasted only three months at the end of 2024.

Opposition parties and some of Macron’s minority coalition partners reacted to Lecornu's appointments with fury, as many of the ministers were either holdovers from the last government or had previously served in high-level posts.

The 39-year-old Lecornu was Macron’s fifth prime minister since his reelection in 2022 and faced the arduous task of passing a slimmed-down budget to rein in France’s budget deficit and assuage fears that the eurozone’s second-largest economy had not become ungovernable.

Financial markets took the news badly amid rising fears that Paris is politically incapable of making the billions of euros of budgetary cuts needed to see off a debt crisis, with governments collapsing like dominoes because they are unable to push through reforms.

The benchmark French stock index slumped as much as 3 percent at the opening, before relenting a little. In the bond markets, the French government's 10-year borrowing costs lurched 0.08 percentage point higher to 3.57 percent, a whisker short of their highest level for the year. They are now above what Italy pays to borrow for 10 years.

Most ominously, the euro itself fell by over half a cent against the dollar, in a rare instance of domestic political upheaval having effects beyond France's borders.

Same old faces

Lecornu’s path forward had looked uncertain at best when he took the reins last month from François Bayrou, whose government collapsed over his efforts to pass unpopular spending plans that included axing two public holidays.

The new prime minister's potential partners and opponents had made clear they were looking for a symbolic break with Macron’s past governments and policies if they were to play ball in either budget talks or join the new cabinet in some form.

But the ministers appointed by Lecornu on Sunday night hardly represented change. Most key posts remained in the same hands, and the two most prominent additions — Bruno Le Maire as the armed forces minister and Roland Lescure as the economy and finance minister — had been ministers in previous Macron governments.

Bruno Retailleau, leader of the center-right Les Républicains, who was reappointed interior minister, said he believed Macron’s party had held too many cabinet positions despite being increasingly unpopular, said one of his advisers.

Lecornu also appeared to fail to convince the center-left Socialist Party, which likely held the key to success in budget talks. Party leader Olivier Faure said the country was in the midst of an “unprecedented political crisis” — before news of Lecornu’s resignation broke.

Faure later on X later applauded Lecornu's decision, comparing it to the resignation of then-President Charles de Gaulle in 1969.

Macron's own troops appear to be losing their patience as well, according to a centrist politician known to have their finger on the pulse.

The individual, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, told POLITICO that many lawmakers from Macron's camp think the president is trying to sow chaos so the National Rally can come to power, offering him the chance to challenge the far-right party for power during the presidential election in 2032. Macron is barred from running in the next presidential contest after having served two consecutive terms.

Partisan appetites

Lecornu attempted to strike an optimistic tone in a brief speech Monday morning, saying he was ready to compromise but that the “conditions to remain prime minister” weren’t there.

He blamed the ordeal on political parties "who continue to posture as if they had a majority" in France's hung parliament and "partisan appetites" ahead of the 2027 presidential election which led to internal disputes in his minority coalition.

Though Macron’s centrist movement had been on the ropes, Lecornu’s resignation now adds to the already massive political instability in France and is likely to increase the pressure on the president.

France’s main opposition parties are now calling on Macron to call new parliamentary elections or resign himself.

Jordan Bardella, the president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, reacted to Lecornu’s resignation shortly afterwards, telling reporters that there would “very certainly” be new elections “within weeks” and that his party would be “ready to govern."

Le Pen said Lecornu’s decision to step down was a wise move and called on Macron to dissolve parliament.

“We’re at the end of the road, "she said.

Mathilde Panot, head of the largest left-wing group in parliament, France Unbowed, said in a post on X that the “countdown” to Macron’s resignation had started after three governments failed within a year.