President Emmanuel Macron came under increased pressure to hold early legislative elections after Sébastien Lecornu left.
Sébastien Lecornu, the troubled prime minister of France, surprised the country by resigning on Monday less than twenty-four hours after assembling a cabinet, making his administration the shortest-lived in contemporary French history.
In the midst of controversy around the makeup of his cabinet—a tense mix of conservatives and centrists—President Emmanuel Macron’s office said in a statement that he had accepted the resignations of Mr. Lecornu and his ministers.
The left-leaning and far-right opposition groups quickly increased their pressure on Mr. Macron to call for early parliamentary elections or perhaps step down, which are options the president has so far rejected. Other factions, like as the Socialist Party, contended that a left-leaning prime minister was needed.
The resignation came right away, intensifying pressure from far-right and left opposition groups for Mr. Macron to resign or call for early parliamentary elections, both of which the president has now denied. The Socialist Party and other groups contended that a left-leaning prime minister was needed.
Less than a month has passed since the appointment of Mr. Lecornu, a close ally of the French president. He is the third prime minister to resign in less than a year, which was uncommon in France until recently.
Later on Monday, the office of Mr. Macron announced that he had requested that Mr. Lecornu, who is still serving in a caretaker role, make final negotiations with political groups by Wednesday night in order “to define a platform for action and stability for the country.”
On social media, Mr. Lecornu stated that he had consented to do so but gave no specifics, stating that Mr. Macron would “draw all the necessary conclusions” based on the outcome of the negotiations.
The departure shocked markets and will put France’s capacity to pass a budget before the end of the year to address its soaring debt and deficit in jeopardy.
Since Mr. Macron called for early elections in 2024, a group of left-wing parties, a shaky center-right coalition, and a far-right nationalist and anti-immigration party have been unable to reach an agreement in France’s lower chamber of parliament. No one party has a majority.
Only new legislative elections, according to Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party, could end the political deadlock.
After Mr. Lecornu resigned, she told reporters, “The farce has lasted long enough.”
It was a challenging balancing act for Mr. Lecornu, who was scheduled to deliver a budget on Tuesday. The moderate Socialist Party, whose demands, such as a wealth tax and a delay of the recently hiked legal retirement age, conflict with the pro-business agenda that Mr. Macron wishes to maintain, required him to maintain a tenuous coalition with conservatives while simultaneously caving in to their demands.
When France’s next presidential elections are set for 2027, Mr. Lecornu said in a televised speech on Monday that he had attempted to create the circumstances for a budget agreement and to “respond to a handful of emergencies that cannot wait for 2027.”
As his predecessors frequently did to compel MPs to approve a budget, Mr. Lecornu had declared last week that he would not exercise a constitutional right to drive a spending package through Parliament without a full vote. It was a dangerous gamble to promise lawmakers a voice in order to avoid the possibility of being overthrown before budget talks had even started.
However, Mr. Lecornu charged on Monday that the parties in France had not taken advantage of the chance. He claimed that the absence of cross-party talks in French politics had set him up for failure and blamed “partisan appetites,” implying that many lawmakers were more concerned with getting ready for the next elections.
Speaking of France’s lower house, Mr. Lecornu stated, “Political parties are still acting as though they all have an absolute majority in the National Assembly.” “Each political party wants the other to embrace its entire platform, but I was willing to make concessions.”
Despite the fact that his centrist alliance suffered a significant defeat in the snap elections, opposition parties blame Mr. Macron for his refusal to name a prime minister who could challenge him. The conservative-centrist alliance also included Mr. Lecornu’s two predecessors and their cabinet members.
“Mr. Macron did not want to accept the results of the early parliamentary elections he had called,” stated Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the longtime head of the far-left France Unbowed party, on Monday.
Mr. Mélenchon, whose party has been calling for Mr. Macron to step down for months, added, “Since then, the republic and democracy have been distorted.”
Despite the fact that supporters had hailed Mr. Lecornu as a skilled negotiator who might find a way to reach a budget, it seems that the departure was precipitated by extreme ire from conservatives in his coalition.
The choice of Bruno Le Maire as defense minister infuriated the Republicans, France’s biggest conservative party. Le Maire served as minister of finance and the economy from 2017 until 2024. Opponents of Mr. Macron accuse Mr. Le Maire, a seasoned moderate, of allowing the deficit to skyrocket under his administration.
The choice of Bruno Le Maire as defense minister infuriated the Republicans, France’s biggest conservative party. Le Maire served as minister of finance and the economy from 2017 until 2024. Opponents of Mr. Macron accuse Mr. Le Maire, a seasoned moderate, of allowing the deficit to skyrocket under his administration.
On Monday, Bruno Retailleau, the Republican leader and interior minister, told the TF1 channel that the selection of Mr. Le Maire, whom he said Mr. Lecornu had concealed from him, had demonstrated a “disconnect” between the government and the general population.
He declared, “We need stability and a budget.” “However, I can’t commit to a government that withholds information from me.”
