Lecornu blames lack of compromise across political spectrum
Sébastien Lecornu has spoken to reporters, about an hour after announcing his resignation.
“I was ready to compromise, but each political party wanted the other political party to adopt its entire program,” he said from the courtyard of Matignon Palace, the prime minister’s headquarters.
He insisted that he had worked for weeks to forge a viable path among social partners, unions and politicians from across the spectrum. He highlighted that his promise not to push through legislation without a parliamentary vote was a major break with past years and should have been significant enough for opposition politicians to have backed him.
“It would take little for it to work,” Lecornu added. “By being more selfless for many, by knowing how to show humility … One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”
Key events
How did we get here?
The roots of today’s political crisis can be traced back to Macron’s decision to call legislative elections in the summer of 2024.
The elections yielded a fragmented parliament, where both the far-right and hard-left hold considerable sway. Complicating matters is the fact politicians in France are not used to building coalitions and finding consensus.
Hours after the results of the legislative elections came in last summer, one 36-year-old in Lyon explained it to me this way:
We don’t have this kind of culture. We have a culture of a leader who decides for others and the rest are in opposition, waiting for the next election to put forward or impose their ideas. So this is all unknown to us.”
14 hours of government
Lecornu’s short time in office hints at the depth of the political crisis that has gripped France; Lecornu was prime minister for only 27 days. His government lasted 14 hours.
It was the shortest stint in office ever for a prime minister in modern France.
After weeks of consulting with political parties across the board, Lecornu, a close ally of Macron, appointed his ministers on Sunday. They had been set to hold their first meeting on Monday afternoon.
But Lecornu’s choice of ministers was criticised across the political spectrum and described as both too right-wing or not sufficiently so, sparking concerns on how long it would last.
According to Reuters, Lecornu’s resignation means that ministers appointed last night now find themselves in the bizarre situation of becoming caretaker ministers — remaining 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.
The situation was summed up by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the newly reappointed minister for ecology, in this way: “I despair of this circus.”
Here are the immediate reactions we’ve seen on social media from the opposition:
The leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella: “There can be no return to stability without a return to the polls and the dissolution of the National Assembly.”
Mathilde Panot, of the hard left France Unbowed, called on the president, Emmanuel Macron to follow in Lecornu’s footsteps: “Lecornu resigns. 3 Prime Ministers defeated in less than a year. The countdown has begun. Macron must go.“
Stocks plunge and opponents call for new elections or Macron to go
Sébastien Lecornu was the country’s third prime minister in barely a year.
News of his resignation sent the CAC-40 index of leading French companies plunging; it was down by nearly 2% on its Friday close.
As many across France reeled with shock, opponents of the president, Emmanuel Macron, immediately seized on the moment. The far-right National Rally called on him to either call for new snap elections or resign while across the spectrum on the left, France Unbowed also called for Macron’s departure.
France gripped by political turmoil as PM resigns
Good morning and welcome to Europe’s live blog. All eyes this morning are on France, which has been plunged into political turmoil as the prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, steps down after less than a month in the role.
Emmanuel Macron accepted his resignation this morning after the cabinet the president announced late on Sunday was met with fierce criticism across the political spectrum.
Lecornu is due to speak shortly, so stay with us for all the developments.
