France’s political landscape was thrown into fresh turmoil on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced his resignation, leaving President Emmanuel Macron facing yet another deadlock at the Élysée Palace.
In a brief statement following his departure, Lecornu said that the “conditions were no longer in place” for him to continue leading the government. He explained that efforts to rebuild dialogue with trade unions, business leaders, and social partners on long-stalled issues such as unemployment benefits, pensions, and social security had failed to produce a workable political path forward.
Lecornu’s exit marks the shortest premiership in France’s Fifth Republic and makes him the third prime minister to step down since the snap parliamentary elections of June 2024, which left the National Assembly deeply fragmented among three main political blocs.
Coalition unraveling
The resignation followed a weekend of escalating tensions within the governing coalition. Conservative leader Bruno Retailleau led a rebellion against Macron’s new cabinet, criticizing it for being filled with loyalists rather than representing a true break from the past. The reappointment of Bruno Le Maire as defense minister — after years as economy minister — sparked particular anger, viewed by many as a symbol of recycled politics and fiscal mismanagement.
Smaller centrist parties, including the UDI and Parti Radical, quickly withdrew their support, accusing Macron’s team of sidelining coalition partners.
Macron’s dwindling options
The president now faces limited choices: he can attempt to appoint another prime minister and rebuild a majority; dissolve parliament again and call new elections — a power he regained in July; or, as some opponents demand, consider resignation, an option he is said to abhor.
Lecornu’s departure has further weakened Macron’s already fragile majority, described in Paris as a “very, very relative one.” His failure to unify his camp or win compromises from the Socialists has fueled doubts about the viability of his leadership.
Opposition demands new elections
Calls for immediate elections or a left-wing cohabitation government have grown louder. Leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise said his party would renew its push for Macron’s removal, while Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally urged a full dissolution of the Assembly, arguing that “stability cannot return without a new vote.”
The political left remains divided over how to respond. Mélenchon is pressing for a unified leftist front, while the Socialists and Greens lean toward forming a left-led government without necessarily forcing new elections. Green leader Marine Tondelier said that cooperation among leftist factions would be “extremely difficult” given past divisions but expressed support for a left-wing prime minister.
For Macron, however, the path forward appears increasingly narrow. With his coalition fractured and opposition parties circling, France’s president once again finds himself back at square one.
