France’s Prime Minister Has Resigned After Less Than A Month In Office, Plunging It Into Chaos Again
Sebastien Lecornu is the 4th prime minister to leave in a year, plunging france into chaos.
France’s prime minister Sebastien Lecornu has resigned less than a month after taking office, setting a new record for the shortest period a prime minister has ever served in modern French history and plunging the country into more political chaos.
Lecornu is seen as a close ally of president Emmanuel Macron.
Macron had appointed him as France’s new prime minister on Sept. 9, a day after his predecessor, François Bayrou, was forced to resign after he lost a confidence vote in parliament after both the left and right voted against him over his plan for 2026 budget, which included major budget cuts.
On Sept. 10 a grassroots movement called “Bloquons Tout” or “Block Everything”, which had already been organizing against Bayrou’s budget, planned a massive nationwide civil disobedience during Lecornu’s inauguration.
More than 250,000 people across France took to the streets, holding a nationwide boycott, blocking roads, burning barricades and trash bins clashing with police to protest the budget cuts and calling for Macron to resign.
Despite the protests, Lecornu continued to serve as the prime minister and was planning to form a new government to stabilize the country.
On Sunday, Oct. 5 evening, Lecornu named his government’s ministers.
Despite Lecornu’s promises to “break” with the strategy of his unpopular predecessor, his ministers' lineup angered both his opposition and allies.
He chose many ministers who had served before in the government.
This made people and members of parliament angry, seeing that nothing has changed due to his decision to appoint the same people who didn’t help the country before, particularly Roland Lescure as economy minister and Bruno Le Maire as defense minister.
Faced with massive backlash, Lecornu presented his resignation on Monday, Oct. 6, just hours after naming his government, making it the shortest-lived government in modern French history, according to Reuters.
“I was ready to compromise, but each political party wanted the other political party to adopt its entire programme,” Lecornu said outside the prime minister’s office.
Macron accepted his resignation and asked Lecornu to continue in a caretaker role while attempting last-minute negotiations with political factions to stabilize the government.
The French Parliament has been divided between far-right and far-left blocs since Macron announced snap elections in 2024, according to Al Jazeera.
Lecornu’s resignation sparked opposition calls for Macron to step down and a new election to be held.
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