French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, just hours after appointing his new cabinet. He took charge of the Prime Minister’s Office on September 9, 2025.
According to Reuters, the development came after allies and foes alike threatened to topple his government.
Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, had on Sunday appointed his ministers, and the cabinet had been set to hold its first meeting on Monday afternoon.
However, the new cabinet line-up had irked his opponents and allies, who either found it too right-wing or not enough, raising questions on how long it could last, the report suggested.
This came at a time when France was already mired deep in a political crisis, with no group holding a majority in a fragmented parliament.
Lecornu handed his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.
“Mr Sebastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his Government to the President of the Republic, who has accepted it," an official statement mentioned.
Lecornu was Macron’s fifth prime minister in two years.
According to AFP, Lecornu had faced the daunting task of finding approval in a deeply divided parliament for an austerity budget for next year.
Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors, Francois Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the legislative chamber in a standoff over the spending plan.
France’s public debt has reached a record high, the report quoted official data last week, adding that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now the European Union’s third-highest after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the 60 per cent permitted under EU rules.
Previous governments had rammed the last three annual budgets through the parliament without a vote, a method allowed by the constitution but deeply criticised by the opposition.
However, Lecornu had promised last week to ensure lawmakers were able to vote on the bill.
France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap parliamentary elections in the middle of last year in the hopes of bolstering his authority.
The move backfired, leaving the Macron-friendly bloc in the assembly in a minority.
