France has been thrown back into political chaos after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned on Monday — less than a day after his cabinet was officially unveiled and only 26 days after taking office.
The Elysée Palace confirmed Lecornu’s resignation following a one-hour meeting with President Emmanuel Macron on October 6, 2025. The abrupt move marks the fifth change of prime minister in under two years, underscoring France’s deepening political instability.
Lecornu, a Macron loyalist and former armed forces minister, was appointed last month after the collapse of François Bayrou’s government, which was voted down in parliament over a contentious austerity budget. But Lecornu’s own cabinet — largely unchanged from Bayrou’s — immediately drew fierce criticism from across the political spectrum. Opposition parties had threatened to reject it, warning of another no-confidence vote.
Now, several factions in the National Assembly are demanding early elections, and some are even calling for President Macron’s resignation. Far-right National Rally (RN) figure Sébastien Chenu declared, “Macron needs to choose: dissolution of parliament or resignation.”
France’s legislature has been in gridlock since the hung parliament produced by the July 2024 snap elections, leaving Macron unable to secure stable majorities for his centrist government.
The country’s economic woes have compounded the crisis. France’s deficit hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024, with public debt rising to 114%, one of the highest in the eurozone. The failed Bayrou budget had aimed to cut spending by 7.548 trillion shillings, but parliament’s rejection toppled his government.
Markets reacted sharply to Lecornu’s exit, with stocks tumbling on the Paris exchange Monday morning as investors braced for renewed uncertainty.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, said: “There cannot be a return to stability without a return to the ballot box. Macron has understood nothing of the political situation we are in.”
As pressure mounts, Macron faces a crucial decision — whether to dissolve parliament and call new elections, or attempt to cobble together yet another fragile government. Either path risks deepening divisions in a country already fractured between the left, the far right, and the centre, with no clear majority in sight.
