French PM resigns hours after naming government, plunging France further
into political chaos
[October 06, 2025]
PARIS (AP) — Facing criticism from all sides, France’s new
prime minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than 24 hours after
naming his government and after less than a month in office, plunging
the country into a deep political crisis and .
The French presidency said in a statement Monday that President Emmanuel
Macron has accepted his resignation. Lecornu had replaced his
predecessor François Bayrou to become France’s fourth prime minister in
barely a year.
A faithful ally of Macron, Lecornu said conditions were no longer met to
remain in office after failing to build a consensus.
“It would take little for it to work," Lecornu said in his resignation
speech. "By being more selfless for many, by knowing how to show
humility. One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”
Macron's opponents immediately tried to capitalize on the shocking
resignation, with the far-right National Rally calling on him to either
call for new snap elections or resign.
“This raises a question for the President of the Republic: can he
continue to resist the legislature dissolution? We have reached the end
of the road,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen said. “There is no other
solution. The only wise course of action in these circumstances is to
return to the polls.”
On the far left, France Unbowed also asked for Macron’s departure, while
voices on the left called for the revival of a coalition made up of
leftists, socialists, greens and communists.
The resignation rattled investors, sending the CAC-40 index of leading
French companies plunging. The index was down by nearly 2% on its Friday
close.
Ministers appointed just the previous night found themselves in the
bizarre situation of becoming caretaker ministers — kept in place only
to manage day-to-day affairs until a new government is formed — before
some of them had even been formally installed in office.
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French outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who resigned just
a day after naming his government, delivers his statement at the
Hotel Matignon in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (Stephane Mahe/Pool
via AP)
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the newly reappointed minister for ecology,
posted on X: “I despair of this circus.”
Lecornu's choice of ministers has been criticized across the
political spectrum, particularly his decision to bring back former
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire to serve at the defense ministry,
with critics saying that under his watch France’s public deficit
soared.
Lecornu’s main task would have been to pass a budget as France is
faced with a massive debt crisis. At the end of the first quarter of
2025, France’s public debt stood at 3.346 trillion euros ($3.9
trillion), or 114% of GDP. Debt servicing remains a major budget
item, accounting for around 7% of state spending.
Other key positions remained largely unchanged from the previous
cabinet, with conservative Bruno Retailleau staying on as interior
minister in charge of policing and internal security, Jean-Noël
Barrot remaining as foreign minister and Gérald Darmanin keeping the
justice ministry.
French politics have been in disarray since Macron called snap
elections last year that produced a deeply fragmented legislature.
Far-right and left-wing lawmakers hold over 320 seats at the
National Assembly, while the centrists and allied conservatives hold
210.
Seeking consensus at the National Assembly, Lecornu consulted with
all political forces and trade unions before forming his Cabinet. He
also vowed that he would not employ a special constitutional power
his predecessors had used to force budgets through Parliament
without a vote and would instead seek compromise with lawmakers from
the left and the right.
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