Newly appointed French Prime Minister resigns after just 26 days in office

France’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has resigned just 26 days after taking office, deepening the country’s ongoing political turmoil.

Lecornu’s brief tenure followed the collapse of François Bayrou’s government, which fell after Members of Parliament (MPs) refused to approve his proposed budget. Bayrou himself had been appointed following the removal of Michel Barnier in December 2024.

According to a report by the BBC, Lecornu stepped down a day after unveiling his new cabinet, which retained most ministers from Bayrou’s administration. The line-up was met with widespread criticism in the National Assembly, with parties across the political spectrum threatening to reject it.

French media outlets have reported that President Emmanuel Macron is unlikely to issue a public statement immediately, leaving uncertainty over his next steps to resolve the political deadlock.

France’s political instability dates back to July 2024, when Macron called for snap parliamentary elections in hopes of securing a clear majority after his party suffered heavy losses in the European Parliament elections. The vote, however, produced a hung parliament split among deeply divided ideological blocs, each unwilling to compromise.

Calls for early elections have since intensified, with opposition figures demanding that Macron step down. “The only wise thing to do now is to hold elections,” said Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN). “The joke has gone on long enough. The French people are fed up. Macron has put the country in an extremely difficult position,” she added.

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The president now faces three options: appoint another prime minister, dissolve the National Assembly again, or resign. The last appears the least likely. Lecornu, once considered Macron’s most loyal ally, was viewed as his final card. His resignation now leaves Macron with limited political options as France braces for further uncertainty.

Lecornu, a former Armed Forces Minister, was France’s fifth prime minister in less than two years.