France has been thrown into fresh political chaos after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu dramatically resigned just hours after unveiling his new cabinet.
Lecornu handed his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, ending what has become the shortest-lived government in modern French history. His administration lasted a mere 14 hours, marking a new low point in Macron’s increasingly turbulent second term.
The shock resignation followed mounting threats from both allies and opposition groups to topple the government. The move rattled financial markets, sending French stocks and bonds tumbling and nudging the euro lower.
In a statement, the Élysée Palace confirmed that Macron had accepted Lecornu’s resignation.
Since Macron’s re-election in 2022, French politics has been dogged by instability and repeated collapses of minority governments. His decision to call a snap parliamentary election last year deepened divisions, producing an even more fragmented National Assembly.
Lecornu was Macron’s fifth prime minister in just two years, succeeding François Bayrou, who was forced out after a confidence vote defeat linked to unpopular austerity measures.
The latest political meltdown has triggered growing calls for Macron himself to step down.
“Lecornu resigns. Three prime ministers defeated in less than a year. The countdown has begun. Macron must go,” said Mathilde Panot, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed party.
Meanwhile, tense budget talks continue amid a divided parliament split between Macron’s centrist minority, the far right, and the left — leaving France’s €3 trillion debt crisis without a clear solution.
