France’s PM Lecornu resigns a day after forming government

On Monday, October 6, 2025, France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned, just a day after naming his government.

Lecornu’s new minority and largely unchanged cabinet life span was already at risk due to its lack of a stable and solid majority in Parliament. On the contrary, both the left and the far-right have been staunch opposers of the aforementioned government; the former (National Assembly) has vowed to hold a no-confidence vote against Lecornu, while the latter (Marine Le Pen’s National Rally) has called for snap parliamentary elections altogether (hoping to retain more seats as polls suggest a significant rise of the right, not just in France, but all across Europe as well).

Lecornu, a centrist and close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, was France’s former defense minister and the fourth prime minister in just a year (which reflects the growing political divide in the country). Paris has been facing prolonged political instability, especially with Macron’s unforeseen decision to dissolve the National Assembly in June 2024 (hoping to strengthen his centrist alliance). However, the outcome proved to be the complete opposite. The elections only gave a fragmented assembly, with no political bloc (neither the left, nor the centrists, nor the far-right) achieving and holding a clear and dominant majority for the first time in France’s modern republic. This leaves comprise as the sole path for all contending parties; something that France’s political history and system does not tolerate (unlike the case of countries like neighboring Germany).

Although Lecornu was expected to give a speech to the National Assembly to outline his government’s direction and his plans for crafting next year’s austerity budget, the PM has instead submitted his resignation. France’s budget has been a contentious and divisive issue (with unions and activists staging nationwide protests since Lecornu’s appointment, calling for spending cuts to public services), but the newly-resigned PM previously vowed to seek a compromise with lawmakers across the political spectrum instead of resorting to a special constitutional power to force a budget through parliament without a vote (as some predecessors have done).