French Prime Minister steps down after just two weeks in office
France plunged into political turmoil Monday as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than a month into office and just 24 hours after unveiling his new government. President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation, marking Lecornu as the fourth prime minister in barely a year. A close ally of Macron, Lecornu cited his inability to build a broad consensus as the reason for stepping down, saying in his resignation address, “One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”
The resignation drew immediate reactions from both ends of the political spectrum. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen called for snap elections or Macron’s resignation, declaring, “We have reached the end of the road. The only wise course of action is to return to the polls.” On the left, France Unbowed demanded Macron step down, while other leftist groups urged the revival of a coalition of socialists, greens, and communists. Markets reacted sharply, with France’s CAC-40 index dropping nearly 2% on Monday. Ministers appointed just the day before were thrust into caretaker roles before officially taking office, with some, including Agnès Pannier-Runacher, expressing frustration at the abrupt upheaval.
Lecornu’s Cabinet choices, particularly his decision to move former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire to the defense ministry, faced widespread criticism. The prime minister had been tasked with passing a budget amid a deepening debt crisis, with France’s public debt reaching 3.346 trillion euros ($3.9 trillion), or 114% of GDP, by the first quarter of 2025. Several key ministers retained their previous posts, including Bruno Retailleau as interior minister, Jean-Noël Barrot as foreign minister, and Gérald Darmanin at the justice ministry.
The resignation underscores the ongoing instability in French politics following last year’s snap elections, which produced a fragmented National Assembly. Far-right and left-wing lawmakers hold more than 320 seats, while centrists and allied conservatives control 210. Lecornu had sought to build consensus by consulting political forces and trade unions and pledged not to use a constitutional mechanism previously employed to pass budgets without parliamentary approval, emphasizing compromise with lawmakers across the spectrum.
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