France was plunged into deeper political chaos on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned just 27 days into office, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history.
His government collapsed only hours after officially taking office following cabinet appointments, leaving President Emmanuel Macron scrambling to restore stability amid mounting calls for snap elections.
Lecornu’s sudden departure marks the fifth change of prime minister under Macron in barely two years. His resignation followed fierce backlash over his newly announced cabinet, which angered both left and right-wing factions for being, in their view, either too conservative or insufficiently so.
In a brief statement, Lecornu said he could not continue under the current political conditions. “Being prime minister is a difficult task. You cannot be prime minister when the conditions are not right,” he said. Citing his failed efforts to govern without relying on Article 49.3 — an emergency constitutional clause allowing laws to pass without a parliamentary vote — he added, “Certain political parties have pretended not to see the change, the rupture represented by not using Article 49.3.”
Just 14 hours elapsed between Lecornu announcing on social media the appointment of his new government and his resignation speech.
Following Lecornu’s resignation, National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella demanded new elections. “There can be no restored stability without a return to the polls and without the dissolution of the National Assembly. The National Rally will be ready to assume its responsibilities and govern if the French people grant it a majority,” Bardella declared.
Marine Le Pen went further, saying “there is no solution, there will not be one tomorrow,” and urged Macron to dissolve parliament, adding that the president’s own resignation would be “wise.”
Il n'y a pas de solution, il n'y en aura pas demain : j'appelle le président de la République à dissoudre l'Assemblée nationale. pic.twitter.com/z9TfxNK8ke
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) October 6, 2025On the far left, France Unbowed (LFI) leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called Lecornu’s departure “the final proof of Macron’s failure” and demanded that the National Assembly approve a motion to oust the president. “Following the resignation of Sébastien Lecornu, we call for immediate consideration of the motion tabled by 104 MPs for the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron,” he said. LFI MP Louis Boyard echoed that “the time has come for the Sixth Republic,” ominously warning that “Macron must resign or the people will force him out.”
Après la démission de Sébastien Lecornu, nous demandons l’examen immédiat de la motion déposée par 104 députés pour la destitution d’Emmanuel Macron.
— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) October 6, 2025Éric Ciotti, head of the Union of the Right and Centre (LRLC), said Macron “must learn the lessons of this chaos. When there is a crisis, the only solution is elections.” He added that “the best would naturally be a presidential election,” something Macron has — understandably, given the current polling — resisted.
The latest crisis leaves Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance in disarray, with polls showing it trailing badly. According to current data, the National Rally leads with 32 percent support, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front on 25 percent, Macron’s Ensemble on 15 percent, and the Republicans on 12 percent.
The political paralysis has had a profound knock-on effect on the French economy. Public debt has soared to 113.9 percent of GDP, and its public deficit is nearly twice the EU’s 3-percent limit.
