Sébastien Lecornu has resigned as prime minister of France after only 27 days in office, plunging France into fresh political chaos.
Mr Lecornu handed his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron this morning, which the latter accepted during an hour-long meeting. Mr Macron must now appoint a record eighth prime minister of his tenure.
The resignation came after heavy criticism from across the political spectrum following the announcement of Mr Lecornu’s proposed cabinet over the weekend.
Remaining largely unchanged from that of his predecessor François Bayrou – who lost a vote of confidence in September – critics said it failed to progress forward from the stalemate that led to the ousting of the former prime minister.
The re-appointment of Bruno Retailleau as Interior Minister and Gérald Darmanin as Justice Minister were particularly controversial, due to their strong right-wing views, and may have made working with parties on the left impossible.
As late as Friday (October 3), Mr Lecornu was outlining plans for the upcoming 2026 budget and urging compromise between factions in the deeply-divided Assemblée nationale.
Mr Lecornu criticised other parties in a speech given this morning following his resignation.
"The political parties continue to adopt a posture as if they all had an absolute majority in the Assembly. Each party wants the other party to adopt its entire platform; this is true of the [the current ruling parties], but also of the opposition," he said.
"It wouldn't take much for it to work... By being more selfless, for many, by knowing how to demonstrate humility and the erasure of certain egos," he added.
It is reported that Mr Retailleau - also leader of the right-wing Les Républicains - threatened to step down due to the appointment of certain ministers. However, Mr Retailleau denied he was responsible for Mr Lecornu stepping down.
For his part, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure praised the resignation.
"I wondered if there was a Gaullist left in this country. There was, and he has just resigned with dignity and honour," he said on social media.
What next as fresh political crisis unfolds?
The resignation makes Mr Lecornu the shortest-serving prime minister of the Fifth Republic, beating the 90-day term of Michel Barnier in 2024.
Mr Barnier was the first prime minister appointed following the 2024 legislative elections, which returned a deeply-divided Assemblée nationale with no clear majority.
Split roughly into thirds between the left/far-left, centre/right, and far-right, no single group is able to find a majority of MPs without an alliance, meaning the centrist parties and right-wing Les Républicains have been ruling in an uneasy, minority alliance.
However, opposing groups came together to depose both Mr Barnier and Mr Bayrou through votes of confidence, and were threatening to do so again to Mr Lecornu following the announcement of his cabinet.
Today’s situation is unprecedented.
The newly-named ministers are due to meet with the outgoing prime minister today at 13:00, for their first - and last - cabinet meeting. It is the shortest ruling cabinet in France’s history, beating the two-day cabinet of prime minister Henri Queuille during the Fourth Republic.
The new cabinet was announced via decree in today’s Journal Officiel, published a few hours before the prime minister resigned.
Despite not working a day under the ‘Lecornu’ administration, the cabinet will immediately become ‘resigning ministers’, only remaining in their respective roles to deal with urgent issues until a new cabinet is formed.
Most of the major cabinet ministers are the same as under Mr Bayrou – a cause of chagrin for other parties.
However, former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who was appointed Armed Forces Minister to replace Mr Lecornu, will become a resigning minister of the new role without having ever working in the position.
It also means that work on the 2026 budget will be further pushed back until a newly-appointed government can present it to MPs and Senators.
A new prime minister must be appointed
A new prime minister must now be appointed, but Mr Macron may have exhausted his viable options.
It is clear that any attempt to appoint a new prime minister from among Macronist candidates will result in opposition forces blocking the move through a vote of no confidence.
The president could reach out to a member of a party not currently in the government alliance, most likely the Socialists and Ecologists, in an attempt to bring them into the fold and create a majority government.
Such a ‘Republican’ alliance (so-called because it would block out the far-left and far-right) is possible, but it is unclear if the various factions would be able to come to an agreement, particularly given Mr Lecornu’s comments about the difficulties of parties working together.
It is extremely unlikely the president would reach out to the far-right Rassemblement National or far-left La France Insoumise to form a government, who have both been consistently denounced as extremist factions by the Macronist camp.
New elections on the horizon?
The president could dissolve parliament and call new legislative elections for the chamber, returning a new set of MPs.
It has been more than one year since the last elections in July 2024, meaning this is legally possible.
Mr Macron seems hesitant to call elections however, as it would only likely further weaken centrist presence in the chamber.
If an opposition party returned a majority of MPs (at least 289), he would be all but forced to appoint a prime minister from this party and rule in ‘cohabitation’.
Leader of the far-right Rassemblement National Jordan Bardella has already called for new elections, as has MP Marine Le Pen.
"There can be no restored stability without a return to the polls and without the dissolution of the Assemblée nationale," said Mr Bardella in a statement.
"The only wise decision is to return to the polls," said Ms Le Pen.
Recent polls suggest his party would again perform well - they are currently the largest single party in the chamber.
Will the president resign?
One step further, the president could resign himself, leading to both legislative and presidential elections.
The far-left has been calling on Mr Macron to resign for several years, and echoed the demand for him to step down following today’s announcement.
“The countdown has begun. Macron must go,” said La France Insoumise MP Mathilde Panot.
Talisman of the party Jean-Luc Mélenchon urged all MPs from across the spectrum to consider backing the party’s current motion to impeach the president, set to be discussed in parliament in the coming weeks.
"I'm not going to call on Emmanuel Macron to resign, but if he decides to do so, it would be wise," said Ms Le Pen on the matter.
However, calls for resignation now include politicians from the ‘non-extreme’ parties, including Mr Macron’s supposed-allies in Les Républicains.
“France's interests dictate that Emmanuel Macron schedule his resignation to preserve the institutions and unblock a situation that has been unavoidable… He bears primary responsibility for this situation,” said right-wing mayor of Cannes David Lisnard on social media.
“The Fifth Republic and the future of our country are at stake,” he added.
However, the president has been steadfast in his commitment to see out his second term, set to end in 2027.
He has consistently ruled out an early resignation, and is unlikely to change his mind so close to the end of his tenure.
Mr Macron cannot run for a third consecutive term, regardless of whether he resigns early or sees his second term out in full.
