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France’s PM resigns after less than a month amid widespread criticism of new cabinet France’s PM resigns after less than a month amid widespread criticism of new cabinet
(about 2 hours later)
Sébastien Lecornu quits, blaming political ‘egos’, after Emmanuel Macron unveiled largely unchanged cabinet lineupSébastien Lecornu quits, blaming political ‘egos’, after Emmanuel Macron unveiled largely unchanged cabinet lineup
Explainer: Why has France’s PM resigned – and what could happen next?Explainer: Why has France’s PM resigned – and what could happen next?
France’s political crisis has deepened after the new prime minister dramatically resigned within hours of appointing a government. France has been plunged into deep political crisis after the new prime minister and his government resigned just hours after the cabinet was appointed, raising serious doubts about President Emmanuel Macron’s ability to govern the country.
Sébastien Lecornu was the third French prime minister in a year, as the country continued to lurch from one political crisis to another. He quit hours before his first cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon. Macron accepted Lecornu’s resignation on Monday morning. Sébastien Lecornu, who was appointed 27 days ago, became the third prime minister of the EU’s second-biggest country to quit in a year when he tendered his resignation on Monday morning, hours before his first cabinet meeting.
Lecornu then made what he called a “spontaneous” speech on the steps of the prime minister’s residence in Paris. He appeared to place the blame on opposition political parties in France, who he said had not wanted to compromise. Lecornu made what he called a “spontaneous” speech on the steps of the prime minister’s residence in Paris, appearing to place the blame on opposition political parties in France, who he said had not wanted to compromise.
Criticising political “egos”, he said parties continued to behave with “partisan appetites” as if they all had an absolute majority in parliament, when in fact none has a majority. Criticising political “egos”, he said parties continued to behave with “partisan appetites”. He said he had been “ready to compromise, but each political party wanted the other political party to adopt its entire programme”.
Lecornu had faced furious criticism from opposition politicians when he announced a new government that was virtually unchanged since last month’s ousting of his predecessor, François Bayrou. Speaking in the courtyard of Matignon palace, the prime minister’s headquarters, the 39-year-old former defence minister, the shortest-lived premier in modern French history, insisted that he had worked for weeks to forge a viable path forward.
The proposed new government was dominated by President Emmanuel Macron’s allies, leaving the government almost unchanged. “It would not take much for it to work,” Lecornu, whose cabinet had been unveiled barely 12 hours previously, added. “By being more selfless for many, by knowing how to show humility One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”
Opposition parties said Lecornu had backtracked on the “profound break” with past politics that he had promised when he took over from the unpopular Bayrou, who was ousted on 9 September over a proposed budget squeeze. Macron must now choose between appointing a new prime minister someone capable of passing a budget for this year or dissolving the national assembly and calling fresh legislative elections. He has consistently said he is reluctant to hold another vote, which polls suggest would probably return another divided parliament or potentially usher in a far-right government.
In his address outside Matignon, Lecornu insisted that his promise not to use article 49.3 of the constitution to bypass parliament which had previously been used to push through legislation without a parliament vote did represent a major break with recent years and was significant enough for opposition politicians to have backed him. He has also repeatedly ruled out standing down before the next presidential election in 2027. Late on Monday afternoon the president had yet to comment publicly on the crisis.
The question now is whether the president will decide to dissolve parliament and call another snap election. Lecornu had faced furious criticism from opposition politicians as soon as the new government was revealed to be virtually unchanged since his immediate predecessor, François Bayrou, was forced to quit last month over proposed budget cuts.
Jordan Bardella, the president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, said: “There cannot be a return to stability without a return to the ballot box and the national assembly being dissolved. The proposed new government was dominated by Macron’s allies. Opposition parties said Lecornu had backtracked on the “profound break” with past politics that he had promised when he took over from Bayrou, who was ousted on 9 September.
“It was very clearly Emmanuel Macron who decided this government himself. He has understood nothing of the political situation we are in.” In his address outside Matignon, Lecornu insisted his promise not to resort to article 49.3 of the constitution used by his predecessors to push legislation through without a parliamentary vote represented a major break with recent years.
The National Rally has pushed for another election, believing they can increase their seats and presence in parliament. His announcement alarmed markets, with the CAC 40 stock index dropping 2% and the euro 0.7%. France’s debt-to-GDP ratio is the EU’s third-highest and almost twice the ceiling permitted under EU rules, as is its projected budget deficit of nearly 6%.
France has gone through a period of instability and political crisis since the centrist Macron called an inconclusive snap election last year. The parliament remains divided between the three blocs: the left, the far right and the centre, with no clear majority. Lecornu’s departure compounds a political crisis that has rocked France since Macron dissolved parliament last summer and called legislative elections that ended in a hung parliament divided into three blocs: the left, the far right and Macron’s own centre-right alliance, with no group coming close to a clear majority.
The far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella called on Monday for the president to dissolve parliament again, while the radical left France Unbowed (LFI) reiterated its longstanding call for the president himself to step down.
Le Pen said it would be “wise” for Macron to resign, but also urged snap legislative polls as “absolutely necessary”. Bardella said he expected the legislative elections to take place and added: “The RN will obviously be ready to govern.”
Bardella, the RN’s president, said: “There cannot be a return to stability without a return to the ballot box. It was very clearly Emmanuel Macron who decided this government himself. He has understood nothing of the political situation we are in.”
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A budget for next year must be agreed within weeks, even though political parties are at loggerheads and Lecornu’s tenure ended in less than a month. Mathilde Panot of LFI said: “The countdown has begun. Macron must go.” David Lisnard, of the conservative Les Républicains (LR) party, which has thus far backed Macron as part of the governing alliance, was also among those who also called on the president to leave.
Parties from the left to far right were to hold meetings on Monday to decide whether or not to vote to oust Lecornu in a no-confidence vote, and it appeared that the government would collapse before it had even started work. Lecornu apparently decided to leave before he could be ousted. LR’s vice-president, Francois-Xavier Bellamy, said the party was not going to offer Macron and his allies “a final lap”. The party’s leader and outgoing interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, was more cautious, saying the ball was now in Macron’s camp and he must speak soon.
Most of the big government posts announced on Sunday night remained the same, including Gérald Darmanin as justice minister and Rachida Dati as culture minister. Analysts expect the president to seek to appoint a new prime minister, who would be the eighth since he was first elected in 2017. He could conceivably try to find a non-party political technocrat, or possibly look towards a figure from the moderate left.
The role of economy minister, which is crucial as a divided parliament struggles to agree on a budget, went to Roland Lescure, a Macron ally who had previously served as industry and energy minister at the start of Macron’s second term. Pierre Jouvet, general secretary of the centre-left Socialist party (PS), said after a party meeting that it was “not calling for dissolution or the departure of the head of state, but for a solution”. That could come in for the form of “appointment of a prime minister from the left, open to compromise”, Jouvet said.
In a surprise move, Bruno Le Maire, a Macron ally who had served as economy minister for seven years of his presidency, returned to government as defence minister. This enraged politicians across the spectrum, who saw it as a sign that there would be no questioning or change of Macron’s pro-business stance. Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group risk analysis firm, said Macron was likely to “appoint a new prime minister and challenge the disparate far right and left wing opposition to cooperate, to avoid a profound fiscal and political crisis”.
Both Macron’s allies and opponents denounced the new cabinet lineup, with the return of Bruno Le Maire, a Macron ally who had served as economy minister for seven years, to government as defence minister particularly enraging politicians across the spectrum.
They saw that appointment as a sign that there would be no questioning or change of Macron’s pro-business stance. Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors, Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted over Macron-approved plans for an austerity budget.
Pressure on the president to come up with a solution is mounting fast, with a budget for next year needing to be agreed within weeks.