Paris (AP) – Faced with criticism from all sides of France The new prime minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than 24 hours after giving the government a name, and after taking office for a month, he plunged the country into a deep political crisis.
The French president said in a statement Monday that President Emmanuel Macron had accepted his resignation. Lecorne became France’s fourth prime minister in just a year, replacing his predecessor, François Beyloux.
Macron’s loyal ally, Recorne, said the conditions for him to remain in office after failing to build a consensus were no longer met.
“It’ll take almost time for that to work,” Recorne said in his resignation speech. “By knowing how to show humility, by being more selfless to many. You have to always put your country in front of the party.”
Macron’s enemy soon tried to take advantage of his shocking resignation, and the far-right national rally asked him to seek a new snap election or resign.
“This raises doubts to the President of the Republic. Can he continue to resist the dissolution of Congress? We have reached the end of the road,” said far-right leader Marine Le Pen. “There is no other solution. The only wise course of action in these situations is to go back to the poll.”
On the far left, France’s departure called for Macron’s departure, while the voices on the left called for the revival of a coalition made up of leftists, socialists, greens and communists.
The resignation rattles investors and rushes through the CAC-40 index of the leading French company. The index fell nearly 2% at the end of Friday.
The pastor, appointed the night before, found himself in a strange situation of becoming a caretaker minister – only protected to manage his day-to-day operations until a new government was formed – before some of them were officially appointed.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher is the newly re-appointed Minister of Ecology, posted to X.
The choice of Recorne ministers has been criticized across political spheres. In particular, his decision to serve former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maier to the Ministry of Defense has skyrocketed the public deficit on his watch.
With France facing a massive debt crisis, Lecorne’s main challenge has been passing the budget. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, France’s public debt was 3.346 trillion euros ($3.9 trillion), or 114% of GDP. Debt Services remains a major budget item, accounting for around 7% of state spending.
Other important positions remain largely different from the previous cabinet, with conservative Bruno Reciro remaining as the interior minister in charge of police and internal security, while Jean Noel Barro continues to maintain the Ministry of Justice by Foreign Minister and Gerald Dalmanin.
French politics have been confused since Macron called the SNAP election last year and produced a severely fragmented parliament. Far-right and left-wing lawmakers hold more than 320 seats in the Legislature, while centralists and alliance conservatives hold 210.
In pursuit of consensus in the Diet, Lecorne consulted with all political forces and labor unions before forming a cabinet. He also vowed that he would not hire. Special constitutional power His predecessors used it to enforce the budget through Congress without votes, and instead asked for a compromise with the left and right lawmakers.
