French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, October 6, gave Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu two days to salvage his administration after the premier's resignation plunged the country further into political crisis less than a month after he took office.
Lecornu earlier Monday stepped down just 14 hours after naming his government and had been due to hold his first cabinet meeting in the afternoon. But in another twist, Macron held new talks with Lecornu in the evening and gave him two days to reach a plan for the country's "stability," the president's office said. Macron tasked Lecornu with "conducting final negotiations by Wednesday evening to define a platform of action and stability for the country," a presidential official said, asking not to be named.
Lecornu added on X: "I have accepted, at the request of the president, to hold final discussions with the political forces for the stability of the country. I will tell the head of state on Wednesday evening whether this is possible or not, so that he can draw all the necessary conclusions."
Macron is ready to "take his responsibilities" in case of failure, the presidential official said, in a possible reference to calling new legislative elections.
Lecornu's new government raised hackles across the spectrum before ministers had even entered their new offices – in particular the appointment of former finance minister Bruno Le Maire as defense minister. The right-wing Les Républicains (LR) party was infuriated by the appointment, seeing Le Maire as the incarnation of Macron's economic policies. But in a bid to break the deadlock, Le Maire said on X that he was stepping down from the government with immediate effect.
Lecornu's 27-day stint in office was the shortest ever for a prime minister in modern France. "The conditions were not fulfilled for me to carry out my function as prime minister," Lecornu said in the morning, denouncing the "partisan appetites" of factions who he said had forced his resignation.
Lecornu's resignation compounds a political crisis that has rocked France for over a year, after centrist Macron called legislative elections in the summer of 2024 which ended in a hung parliament. The Paris stock market slipped after the announcement, with the CAC 40 index of blue-chip stocks down around 1.4 percent.
The chaos comes ahead of the 2027 presidential elections that are expected to be a historic crossroads in French politics, with the French far right under Marine Le Pen sensing its best ever chance of taking power. Le Pen said it would be "wise" for Macron to resign but also urged snap legislative polls as "absolutely necessary."
The party leader of Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National (RN), Jordan Bardella, said he expected the legislative elections to take place. "The RN will obviously be ready to govern," Bardella added.
Macron named Lecornu, a 39-year-old former defense minister and close confidant known for his discretion and loyalty, to the post on September 9. The president had hoped his ally would take the heat out of the domestic crisis and allow him to focus on his efforts on the international stage, notably working with the United States to end Russia's war on Ukraine.
Lecornu had faced the daunting task of finding approval in a deeply divided parliament for an austerity budget for next year. His two immediate predecessors, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the legislative chamber in a standoff over the spending plan and Lecornu risked the same fate.
France's public debt has reached a record high, official data showed last week. France's debt-to-GDP ratio is now the European Union's third-highest after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the 60 percent permitted under EU rules.
Macron has resisted calls to order snap legislative polls again and has also ruled out resigning himself before his mandate ends in 2027. He could also look for a new prime minister, who would be the eighth of the president's mandate but would face a struggle to survive without radical change.