The Reasons Behind France's PM Resigned After Just 27 Days – & Potential Happen Next

France's PM, Sébastien Lecornu, stepped down along with the cabinet, less than 30 days after taking office and within moments of the new cabinet being announced, significantly worsening France's political crisis.

It is another surprising turn following recent incidents that suggest the nation, the EU’s second-biggest member state, is becoming increasingly ungovernable. Let's examine recent developments, the causes and what might come next.

What Just Happened?

The prime minister, who was appointed 27 days ago, tendered his resignation and that of his government this week, only half a day after the key members of his cabinet had been announced. He became the shortest-lived prime minister in modern French history.

Aged 39, former defence minister, aligned with the president, was France’s fifth prime minister since the president’s re-election in 2022 and third leader since Macron dissolved parliament triggering snap polls that were held last summer.

Lecornu blamed party-political intransigence, stating he was “willing to negotiate, yet all factions demanded every other party to adopt its full programme.” It would “would require little to succeed,” however “ideological stubbornness” along with “personal ambitions” blocked progress, he said.

The resignation alarmed markets, as the CAC 40 fell 2% and the euro, 0.7%. The national debt ratio is the EU’s third-highest behind Greece and Italy, nearly double the EU's 60% limit – as is its projected budget deficit of nearly 6%.

Why Did It Happen?

Origins of the turmoil lie in last year's sudden polls, which produced a split assembly split among three more or less equal blocs: the left, nationalist right & the president's centrist coalition, with no group coming close to a clear majority.

The economic downturn has only added to that instability, along with the 2027 presidential race. The president is term-limited, and with each party keen to stake out its ground ahead of elections, compromise in the assembly is increasingly elusive.

Lecornu faced a difficult task of passing an austerity budget through the divided assembly aimed at reining in the yawning budget deficit – a challenge that ousted his two immediate predecessors, who were ousted by MPs over the plan.

The immediate trigger leading to his exit appears to have been the reaction of the centre-right Les Républicains regarding the ministerial team. They claimed the largely unchanged lineup failed to represent a significant shift with past politics that Lecornu had promised.

Revealing key ministries last Sunday prompted fierce criticism from across the political spectrum, with allies and opponents denouncing it for being too conservative or insufficiently so, and endangering its stability.

The return of Bruno Le Maire, long-time finance chief, as defense head particularly enraged politicians from most parties, who saw it as a confirmation that his economic agenda were not up for discussion.

What Might Happen Now?

Nationalist parties of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella urged the president to disband the assembly and call new votes, while the radical left France Unbowed has reiterated longstanding calls for the president himself to step down.

Macron has three main options, each risky and uninviting. First, he could name a new prime minister. Someone from his circle now appears unlikely, and a centrist left candidate could undermine his pension changes.

On the other hand, appointing a confirmed rightwinger would infuriate the left bloc. Given the pressing need to secure some agreement for approving annual spending, experts propose he may try to turn to an independent expert.

Second, he may dissolve parliament and initiate new elections, a move he has consistently said he is reluctant to do and which polls suggest could yield another split result – or bring nationalists to power.

His final option is stepping down, but again, he has repeatedly ruled out standing aside prior to the 2027 vote – an election viewed as pivotal in French politics, as Le Pen eyes a potential victory.