Why the French PM Stepped Down Following Just 27 Days – and Potential Follow
France's prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has resigned along with the cabinet, less than a month following taking office and just moments after unveiling his ministers, significantly worsening the country's governmental turmoil.
It is the latest shock development in a series of events indicating that France, Europe's second-largest economy, faces growing governance challenges. Let's examine recent developments, the causes and what might come next.
What Just Happened?
Lecornu, who was appointed 27 days ago, submitted his departure and that of his government this week, barely 12 hours after the key members of his cabinet had been announced. This made him the briefest-serving PM since the Fifth Republic began.
Aged 39, former defence minister, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, served as the fifth PM since the president’s re-election in 2022 and third leader post-parliament dissolution and called early legislative elections conducted months ago.
Lecornu blamed political rigidity, saying he had been “ready to compromise, yet all factions demanded others accept their entire agenda.” He noted it “would require little to succeed,” however “partisan attitudes” along with “certain egos” stood in the way, according to him.
The resignation spooked investors, with the CAC 40 stock index dropping 2% and the euro, 0.7%. France’s debt-to-GDP ratio is the EU’s third-highest after Greece and Italy, nearly double the 60% permitted under EU rules – as is the nearly 6% deficit forecast.
Why Did It Happen?
Origins of the turmoil lie in last year's sudden polls, which produced a split assembly split among three more or less equal blocs: the left, nationalist right & Macron’s own centre-right alliance, with no group coming close to a clear majority.
The economic downturn has only added to that instability, along with presidential elections due in 2027. The president is term-limited, and with each party keen to stake out its ground ahead of elections, compromise in the assembly has become even harder to find.
He encountered the tough job to approve spending cuts in a fractured parliament aimed at reining in the large fiscal gap – a task that defeated the previous two PMs, who were ousted by MPs over the plan.
The immediate trigger for his resignation appears to have been response from conservative parties regarding the ministerial team. The party said the similar composition did not reflect the “profound break” with past politics he had pledged.
But announcement of the main cabinet posts last Sunday prompted fierce criticism from all sides, with allies and opponents denouncing it as either too rightwing or not rightwing enough, and threatening to topple the new government.
Reappointing Bruno Le Maire, Macron’s economy minister for seven years, as defense head particularly enraged politicians across factions, viewing it as proof that Macron’s pro-business economic policies were not up for discussion.
What Might Happen Now?
Nationalist parties of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella has called on Macron to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections, as leftist groups renewed demands for the president himself to step down.
Macron has three main options, each risky and uninviting. Initially, he might appoint another PM. Someone from his circle now appears unlikely, while even a moderate leftwinger would challenge his hard-won pension reform.
On the other hand, appointing a confirmed rightwinger would infuriate the left bloc. Due to urgent requirements to achieve a minimum of consensus for approving annual spending, experts propose he might consider a non-party political technocrat.
Next, he could dissolve the national assembly and initiate new elections, a move he has consistently said he is reluctant to do and surveys indicate would probably return another divided parliament – or bring nationalists to power.
His final option is stepping down, but again, he has repeatedly ruled out standing aside prior to the 2027 vote – an election viewed as pivotal for France, with Le Pen sensing her best ever chance of taking power.
