PARIS: France was thrown into fresh political turmoil on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned, barely 24 hours after unveiling his cabinet, a move that sparked dissent within President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling alliance and angered opposition parties whose support is vital for passing the 2026 budget.
Lecornu’s resignation, one of the shortest tenures in French political history, came amid mounting criticism over his ministerial appointments, which several lawmakers said reflected poor political judgment at a time when Macron’s centrist coalition lacks a parliamentary majority.
The far-right National Rally (RN) immediately seized on the chaos, calling for drastic action. “Macron now has to choose: dissolve parliament or resign, and quickly!” the party said in a statement. RN president Jordan Bardella told BFM TV that the prime minister had “no room to manoeuvre,” suggesting that Macron himself had dictated the cabinet lineup. “There can be no stability without a return to the polls and dissolution of the National Assembly,” he added.
Outgoing environment minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher expressed dismay over the political infighting, writing on X: “I despair of this circus where everyone plays their part, but no one takes responsibility.” She urged Macron’s camp to seek cooperation with the Left, saying France could not “move forward without strong signals of unity.”
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On the other end of the spectrum, far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed demanded immediate consideration of a motion signed by over 100 lawmakers to impeach Macron.
Former IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard also weighed in, questioning the government’s strategy. “Hard to understand what was in Macron and Lecornu’s minds in presenting more or less the same government,” he wrote on X, adding that the debate had shifted from policy to personalities.