Sébastien Lecornu’s shock resignation as prime minister after less than a month in office underlines the chaos into which Emmanuel Macron has plunged France.
His decision to call a snap election in June 2024 has resulted in a political paralysis that many believe will endure as long as Macron remains in office.
Lecornu resigned 12 hours after unveiling a new government that was in fact a rehash of the one that collapsed at the start of September. Twelve of the 18 ministers had been reappointed. The Left and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally expressed their outrage and vowed to bring down Lecornu’s coalition as they had François Bayrou’s.
Lecornu was in his post for 27 days, the briefest reign of any prime minister in the 67-year history of the Fifth Republic. It is a damning indictment of Macron’s shambolic presidency that four of the five shortest serving premiers in this Republic were appointed by him.
Lecornu appeared before the cameras on Monday morning to explain why he had resigned. He had tried his best to build a consensus in order to pass a budget capable of reducing France’s mountainous debt. It was, he admitted, a “difficult task” from the outset but one which ultimately proved impossible because of the “partisan” behaviour of other political parties.
But it’s no good blaming others for a crisis that is of Macron’s making. The people don’t. The president’s approval rating is at 16 per cent and two thirds of the country want him to resign. So do most of Macron’s political opponents.
The Left have for months been demanding his resignation, but in recent weeks these calls have been echoed by Le Pen’s MPs, as well as some figures from the centre-Right Republicans. One of them, David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, said on Monday that it is in “France’s best interests for Emmanuel Macron to plan his resignation in order to preserve the institutions and break the deadlock that has been inevitable since the absurd dissolution of parliament”.
Le Pen favours fresh parliamentary elections and reiterated her demand after Lecornu’s resignation. “We have reached the end of the road,” she said. “The joke is over, the farce has gone on long enough.”
Would sending the French back to the polls result in a significant change? The polls have Le Pen’s party well in the lead but she would struggle to win an absolute majority in parliament. In other words, France would be back where it started: a divided parliament and a powerless president.
When Macron was elected president in 2017 he told the people in his victory speech that he was aware of the anger and anxiety in France. “It’s my responsibility to listen,” he declared.
The despair has deepened in the eight years since with the country economically and socially worse off. Macron and his brand of divisive contradictory centrism has been rejected by the people. It is his responsibility to listen to them and resign. France needs a fresh start.
Sébastien Lecornu’s shock resignation as prime minister after less than a month in office underlines the chaos into which Emmanuel Macron has plunged France.
His decision to call a snap election in June 2024 has resulted in a political paralysis that many believe will endure as long as Macron remains in office.
Lecornu resigned 12 hours after unveiling a new government that was in fact a rehash of the one that collapsed at the start of September. Twelve of the 18 ministers had been reappointed. The Left and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally expressed their outrage and vowed to bring down Lecornu’s coalition as they had François Bayrou’s.
Lecornu was in his post for 27 days, the briefest reign of any prime minister in the 67-year history of the Fifth Republic. It is a damning indictment of Macron’s shambolic presidency that four of the five shortest serving premiers in this Republic were appointed by him.
Lecornu appeared before the cameras on Monday morning to explain why he had resigned. He had tried his best to build a consensus in order to pass a budget capable of reducing France’s mountainous debt. It was, he admitted, a “difficult task” from the outset but one which ultimately proved impossible because of the “partisan” behaviour of other political parties.
But it’s no good blaming others for a crisis that is of Macron’s making. The people don’t. The president’s approval rating is at 16 per cent and two thirds of the country want him to resign. So do most of Macron’s political opponents.
The Left have for months been demanding his resignation, but in recent weeks these calls have been echoed by Le Pen’s MPs, as well as some figures from the centre-Right Republicans. One of them, David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, said on Monday that it is in “France’s best interests for Emmanuel Macron to plan his resignation in order to preserve the institutions and break the deadlock that has been inevitable since the absurd dissolution of parliament”.
Le Pen favours fresh parliamentary elections and reiterated her demand after Lecornu’s resignation. “We have reached the end of the road,” she said. “The joke is over, the farce has gone on long enough.”
Would sending the French back to the polls result in a significant change? The polls have Le Pen’s party well in the lead but she would struggle to win an absolute majority in parliament. In other words, France would be back where it started: a divided parliament and a powerless president.
When Macron was elected president in 2017 he told the people in his victory speech that he was aware of the anger and anxiety in France. “It’s my responsibility to listen,” he declared.
The despair has deepened in the eight years since with the country economically and socially worse off. Macron and his brand of divisive contradictory centrism has been rejected by the people. It is his responsibility to listen to them and resign. France needs a fresh start.