French PM resigns on Monday and renamed on Friday - what next?
Sébastien Lecornu promises ‘surprises’ in his new government. Socialists say the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections are now the most probable outcome
Mr Lecornu’s swift return to Matignon leaves France facing the same questions as last week
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.
France’s political crisis entered a phase of deja vu on Friday evening when Sébastien Lecornu was reappointed prime minister - just five days after resigning from the post. He is expected to name his new government this Monday or Tuesday.
The Elysée announced shortly before 22:00 that Mr Lecornu had been asked to form a new government “to ensure France has a budget by the end of the year”.
In a short statement on Saturday, Mr Lecornu said he had accepted “out of duty”. He promised a “freer” government and hinted at changes in tone. He insisted he had been given “carte blanche” in his choice by the president but told La Tribune Dimanche: “If the conditions are no longer met, I will leave again.”
Political paralysis
Mr Lecornu, 38, resigned on Monday, October 6, after failed talks between President Macron’s centrist alliance, Les Républicains (LR) and the Socialists.
His departure left the country without a head of government as the 2026 draft budget was due to reach parliament.
Five days of negotiations followed. Several names circulated, including former minister under right-wing President Jacques Chirac Jean-Louis Borloo, but all potential replacements withdrew or were deemed unviable.
By Friday evening, with no workable majority in sight, the president turned again to Mr Lecornu – the third person to serve as prime minister in a year.
He plans to make his general policy declaration - a tradition for all newly appointed prime ministers but a move that can expose them to a vote of confidence - to parliament the day after naming his government.
Among the potential appointments circulating in the French press for his new ministers are Paris police prefect Laurent Nuñez for the Interior Ministry, and constitutional law expert Anne Levade for Justice.
Deep fractures on the right
The collapse of Mr Lecornu’s first government was triggered by rebellion within LR.
Its president, Bruno Retailleau, rejected the idea of taking part in the government, due to having only four LR ministers in the proposed cabinet, as well as the inclusion of Bruno Le Maire, whom he described as “the most hard set Macronist on earth”, as defence minister.
In a letter to party members on October 11, he said he would consult them on whether to maintain his refusal, but added that “not participating does not mean censuring”.
Several LR deputies have openly criticised his stance. Vincent Jeanbrun, MP for Val-de-Marne, called the internal dispute “worthy of the USSR” after being reproached for welcoming the prime minister to his constituency.
The row highlights divisions between LR’s leadership in the Senate and its deputies in parliament, where the party plays a crucial role bridging the political divide with the far-right Rassemblement National.
Growing impatience on the left
On the left, Socialist leader Olivier Faure described Mr Macron’s decision to reappoint Mr Lecornu as “a sign of total disconnection”.
In an interview, also with La Tribune Dimanche on October 11, he said the country was “living the same day over and over again”. He said “dissolution is now the most likely outcome”.
The Socialists continue to demand suspension of the 2023 pension reform, which raised the retirement age to 64, as a condition for any agreement to avoid censure. Without it, they are unlikely to back the budget when it comes to a vote later this month.
Censure or dissolution?
If Mr Lecornu fails to secure cross-party support, his government risks a vote of censure - a move that would bring it down automatically.
President Macron could then either resign himself, appoint another prime minister or dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
With both left and right signalling opposition, and Mr Macron’s fragile coalition now fractured, the consensus among French political commentators is that the political impasse is not over.
Mr Lecornu’s swift return to Matignon may have averted immediate collapse, but it leaves France facing the same question as on Monday last week: how long can this government last?
