The Reasons Behind the French PM Resigned After Only 27 Days – and What Could Happen Next
France's PM, Sébastien Lecornu, stepped down along with his government, under a month after taking office and within hours after unveiling his ministers, dramatically deepening France's governmental turmoil.
It is the latest shock development in a series of events that suggest the nation, the EU’s second-biggest member state, faces growing governance challenges. Let's examine recent developments, the causes and future possibilities.
Recent Events
Lecornu, after less than a month in office, submitted his departure along with the entire cabinet on Monday, barely 12 hours following the ministerial lineup reveal. This made him the briefest-serving PM since the Fifth Republic began.
The 39-year-old, former defence minister, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, served as the fifth PM after Macron's second term and third leader post-parliament dissolution triggering snap polls conducted months ago.
He attributed the resignation to political rigidity, stating he was “ready to compromise, yet all factions demanded every other party to adopt its full programme.” He noted it “not take much for it to work,” but “ideological stubbornness” and “certain egos” stood in the way, he said.
The resignation spooked investors, as the CAC 40 fell 2% and the euro declined 0.7%. The national debt ratio is the EU’s third-highest behind Greece and Italy, almost twice the 60% permitted under EU rules – as is its projected budget deficit of nearly 6%.
Underlying Causes
The roots of the crisis stem from last year's sudden polls, which produced a split assembly split among three nearly equal factions: the left, nationalist right & the president's centrist coalition, none nearing a majority.
France’s financial crisis worsened the uncertainty, along with the 2027 presidential race. The president is term-limited, as parties position themselves ahead of elections, common ground in parliament has become even harder to find.
He encountered a difficult task to approve spending cuts in a fractured parliament targeting reduction of the large fiscal gap – a challenge that ousted the previous two PMs, who were ousted by MPs over the plan.
The final catalyst for his resignation appears to have been response from conservative parties regarding the ministerial team. They claimed the largely unchanged lineup failed to represent a significant shift from previous approaches he had pledged.
Revealing key ministries on Sunday evening drew strong objections from across the political spectrum, with allies and opponents denouncing it for being too conservative or insufficiently so, and endangering its stability.
The return of Bruno Le Maire, long-time finance chief, to government as defence minister particularly enraged politicians from most parties, who saw it as a confirmation that Macron’s pro-business economic policies was non-negotiable.
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 has reiterated longstanding calls for the president himself to step down.
Macron has three main options, each risky and uninviting. Initially, he might appoint another PM. A figure from within his own camp now appears unlikely, and a centrist left candidate could undermine his pension changes.
Alternatively, appointing a confirmed rightwinger would anger left-wing parties. Due to urgent requirements to secure some agreement for approving annual spending, experts propose he might consider a non-party political technocrat.
Second, he could dissolve the national assembly and initiate new elections, an option he has resisted and which polls suggest would probably return another divided parliament – or bring nationalists to power.
His final option would be to resign, however, he has refused to leave before the presidential election in 2027 – an election viewed as pivotal for France, with Le Pen sensing her best ever chance of taking power.
