French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday asked outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to hold final talks with political parties to find a way out of the political crisis by Wednesday evening. The decision came hours after Lecornu handed his resignation as prime minister less than a month into the job.
President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to "assume responsibility" if resigning PM Sébastien Lecornu fails again after a 48-hour, Wednesday evening deadline for last-ditch negotiations, AFP reports citing an unnamed source close to the French president.
With this message, Macron appears to be threatening to dissolve the National Assembly, the powerful lower house of parliament, according to experts.
Lecornu, 39, took over on 9 September as "Block Everything" demonstrations disrupted transport and public services in cities across the country.
He succeeded François Bayrou promising a "profound break" with previous administrations, pointing to "a gap between real life and the political situation".
Speaking in a televised speech on Monday morning, Lecornu said "the conditions were not fulfilled for me to carry out my function as prime minister".
He denounced the "partisan appetites" of factions who he said had forced his resignation.
He bemoaned the face that the three weeks he spent negotiating with political groups was overshadowed by personal ambitions.
Egos
"It would take very little to succeed if many were less self-interested, could show humility and perhaps sometimes step back from their egos."
On Sunday, he came under fire after selecting 18 top politicians for the most important roles in the French government.
But the choices brought condemnation from across the spectrum.
Bruno Retailleau, the head of Les Républicains (LR) party, who retained his job as Interior Minister, hit out at the composition of the new team on social media.
"In view of the political situation created by this announcement, I am convening the Republicans' strategic committee," Retailleau said, ahead of a meeting on Monday morning of LR party chiefs.
Lecornu ends perks for former PMs, while balancing demands from left and right
Calls for general elections
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, told BFMTV on Monday: "The short-lived prime minister had no room for manoeuvre.
"There can be no return to stability without a return to the polls and without the dissolution of the National Assembly."
His colleague – three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen – urged snap parliamentary elections.
"A dissolution (of parliament) is absolutely necessary", she said, adding it would be "wise" for President Emmanuel Macron to resign, a move the president has previously ruled out.
The Paris Stock Exchange fell sharply by nearly 2 percent following the announcement of Lecornu's resignation.
Lecornu's new cabinet was brought together to steer France through a social and public spending crisis.
On Friday, he vowed to forgo the 49.3 article of the constitution that would have allowed him to steamroller a budget bill through parliament without a vote.
Macron names close ally Lecornu as new prime minister
Public debt climbing
Public debt has climbed to 113.9 percent of GDP, due in part to bailing out the economy during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Lecornu was Macron's fourth prime minister since snap general elections in July 2024 left the National Assembly without any of the parties boasting an overall majority.
Gabriel Attal stepped down in September after a truce was called to allow the 2024 Olympics to take place.
Veteran politican Michel Barnier replaced him but lasted 99 days which, until Lecornu's resignation after 27 days, was the shortest tenure in the history of the Fifth Republic.
Bayrou resigned after losing a confidence vote in parliament.
Before his departure, he told the National Assembly: "The biggest risk was not to take one, to let things continue without anything changing... and have business as usual.
"You have the power to overthrow the government, but not to erase reality."
