The Reasons Behind France's Prime Minister Resigned Following Only 27 Days – & Potential Follow
France's PM, the country's leader, stepped down together with the cabinet, less than a month following taking office and within hours after unveiling his ministers, significantly worsening France's political crisis.
It is the latest shock development following recent incidents indicating that France, the EU’s second-biggest member state, is becoming increasingly ungovernable. Here is a look at what just happened, why – and what might come next.
What Just Happened?
The prime minister, who was appointed 27 days ago, tendered his resignation along with the entire cabinet this week, only half a day after the key members of his cabinet had been announced. He became the briefest-serving PM since the Fifth Republic began.
The 39-year-old, former defence minister, aligned with the president, served as the fifth PM after Macron's second term and third leader post-parliament dissolution and called early legislative elections that were held last summer.
Lecornu blamed party-political intransigence, stating he was “willing to negotiate, but every party wanted every other party to adopt its full programme.” He noted it “not take much for it to work,” however “partisan attitudes” and “personal ambitions” stood in the way, according to him.
The resignation alarmed markets, with the CAC 40 stock index dropping 2% and the euro, 0.7%. France’s debt-to-GDP ratio ranks third in the EU after Greece and Italy, almost twice the EU's 60% limit – as is the nearly 6% deficit forecast.
Underlying Causes
The roots of the crisis lie in that 2024 snap general election, that resulted in a split assembly split among three nearly equal factions: the left, nationalist right & the president's centrist coalition, with no group coming close to a clear majority.
The economic downturn worsened the uncertainty, as have presidential elections due in 2027. The president is term-limited, as parties position themselves before the vote, common ground in parliament is increasingly elusive.
He encountered a difficult task of passing an austerity budget through the divided assembly targeting reduction of the large fiscal gap – a challenge that ousted the previous two PMs, removed by lawmakers for similar efforts.
The immediate trigger for his resignation seems to be response from conservative parties to the new cabinet. 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 drew strong objections from all sides, with allies and opponents denouncing it for being too conservative or insufficiently so, and threatening to topple the new government.
Reappointing Bruno Le Maire, long-time finance chief, as defense head particularly enraged politicians from most parties, who saw it as a confirmation that Macron’s pro-business economic policies were not up for discussion.
What Might Happen Now?
Nationalist parties led by Le Pen and Bardella urged the president to dissolve parliament and call new votes, as leftist groups renewed demands for Macron's resignation.
The president faces three choices, all hazardous and none very appealing. First, he might appoint another PM. Someone from his circle seems improbable, and a centrist left candidate could undermine his pension changes.
On the other hand, appointing a confirmed rightwinger would anger left-wing parties. Given the pressing need to secure some agreement for approving annual spending, some analysts have suggested he might consider a non-party political technocrat.
Next, he could dissolve the national assembly and initiate new elections, an option he has resisted and which polls suggest could yield another split result – or potentially usher in an RN government.
The last choice would be to resign, however, he has refused to leave before the presidential election in 2027 – an election viewed as pivotal in French politics, with Le Pen sensing her best ever chance of taking power.
