France’s National Crisis
On October 6, 2025, less than a month after his appointment by French President Emmanuel Macron and less than 24 hours after forming a government, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned. This marks the shortest government since the French Fifth Republic was established in 1958, and the loss of Macron’s fifth Prime Minister since Macron’s re-election in 2022. The constant collapse of French governments marks a deeply concerning trend in modern French politics, one sending the country into a crisis.
How France Selects its Government
France has a semi-presidential system, where the President is elected to a five-year term by direct popular vote. The President then appoints the Prime Minister, who proposes a Cabinet to the President. The President is the Head of State, focusing on foreign policy and defense, while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government, focusing on domestic policy and day-to-day governing. The Prime Minister and their government are accountable to the Parliament, France’s legislature, thus Parliament can vote the Prime Minister out and bring down the government.
Previous Prime Ministers Under Macron
In his eight years as president, Emmanuel Macron has had seven prime ministers. His first Prime Minister was Edouard Philippe, a member of the centre-right Republicans. Philippe served from May 15, 2017, until July 3, 2020, when Macron decided to reshuffle the government to “reinvent” his presidency in light of losses in nationwide municipal elections. Edouard Philippe was replaced by Jean Castex, a member of the centre-right who helped coordinate France’s exit from the Covid-19 lockdown. Castex served from July 3, 2020, until May 16, 2022, resigning after Macron won the general election to keep with tradition.
To kick off his second term, Macron named Elisabeth Borne as the new Prime Minister, the second woman to hold the position since the end of WWII and the first in 30 years. In June 2022, Macron’s centrist alliance lost its absolute majority in Parliament, resulting in Borne as the leader of a minority government. In January 2024, in light of Macron’s wish to reshuffle the cabinet before the European Parliament elections, Borne resigned. Borne’s resignation also came in the context of a fiercely contested immigration bill that passed that previous December after compromising with the right-wing Républicains party. This pushed the legislation further to the right than hoped. Macron then nominated Gabriel Attal, France’s youngest Prime Minister ever, and the first openly gay Prime Minister. After sustaining heavy losses in the European Parliament in June 2024, Macron called for early snap elections to give France a clear majority in the National Assembly. These elections further divided the legislature, with no clear majority between the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance, and the far-right National Rally Party. Following this loss, Attal handed in his resignation, but was asked to stay on to ensure stability during the Paris Olympics. Attal served from January 9, 2024, until September 5, 2024.
Following the loss of an absolute majority in the National Assembly, France’s political state began to spiral. Macron named moderate Michel Barnier as the next Prime Minister in a move that irked both the left and the right. The left claimed Macron wasn’t listening to the will of the voters, as they had won the most seats in the national assembly elections, while the far-right declared Barnier too old. Barnier only held the position from September 5, 2024, until December 13, 2024, after he was ousted by a vote of no confidence. The left and the right teamed up with a vote of 331 out of 577 to remove him over his use of a constitutional mechanism that bypassed a vote in the legislature on his 2025 budget. Barnier was the first Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote since 1962, making him, at the time, the shortest-serving Prime Minister. Macron’s next Prime Minister was François Bayrou, who held the position from December 13, 2024, until September 9, 2025. Many disliked Bayrou’s plan to slash spending by €43.8 billion to reduce the French debt. Some of these measures included the removal of two public holidays, keeping pensions at their 2025 level, capping welfare spending, and reducing healthcare expenditure by €5bn. The capping of welfare spending and removal of the two public holidays were particularly unpopular among the opposition, leading to Bayrou’s budget being slammed as “austerity.” Facing near-certain defeat on his budget, Bayrou called a confidence vote himself, citing that he needed parliamentary support to reduce the national debt. He lost the vote 364-194, bringing down the French government.
The Case of Sébastien Lecornu
After François Bayrou’s resignation, Macron appointed his defense minister, Sébastien Lecornu, as the new Prime Minister. Lecornu’s immediate task was to pass the 2026 budget bill. To avoid the fate of his predecessors, he made an effort to negotiate with the other parties to ensure the budget was passed and the government would not collapse. However, Lecornu faced roadblocks in this process, struggling to negotiate with the opposition. One of these difficulties included negotiating with the Socialists on pension reforms while avoiding losing the support of the conservative Les Républicains. Both parties were necessary to keep the government afloat. Ultimately, Lecornu resigned just 26 days after his appointment, citing the opposition parties’ unwillingness to compromise as one of his reasons for resignation. In response to Lecornu’s resignation, Macron gave him 48 hours to lead final negotiations with political parties to maintain stability in the country. Lecornu’s resignation left Macron with the decision to either appoint a new Prime Minister, the third this year, or dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections. However, many across the political spectrum in France are disillusioned with Macron’s rule due to the political chaos, including many of his allies. Edouard Philippe urged Macron to resign, which would allow for new elections. His reasoning was that Macron’s continued tenure would continue to harm France. Furthermore, Gabriel Attal criticized Macron in response to the president’s decision to call new parliamentary elections last year, claiming he no longer understood the president’s decisions. As a political figure, Macron is losing credibility.
The Future for French Politics
Sébastien Lecornu saw convergence in his budget talks on October 7, averting a further crisis. All parties agreed that the 2026 budget should cut the national deficit to below 5 per cent of GDP, while the idea of the suspension of pension reforms was brought up for consideration. Furthermore, Macron reappointed Lecornu to the Prime Minister position on October 10. Lecornu accepted this reappointment and agreed to work on the budget, despite previously ruling out coming back as Prime Minister. However, this has also brought on criticisms from across the political spectrum. Jordan Bardella of the far-right has called Lecornu’s appointment a “bad joke,” while the Socialists have not ruled out using a no-confidence vote against Lecornu.
Overall, while France may have a Prime Minister again, France’s national crisis is far from over. With Lecornu’s failures the first time, there is no guarantee he can succeed this time. Lecornu must pass a budget for 2026, compromise with parties across the political spectrum, and survive no-confidence votes. In addition, by reappointing the same Prime Minister, Macron has demonstrated that he has run out of options, which is not a good sign for his rule or French politics. With the prime minister position acting as a revolving door, Macron’s legitimacy as a politician has been undermined, as he cannot keep the government together. If Lecornu fails again, this will further harm the president’s legitimacy with the people and among politicians. Furthermore, the right and left could still oust Lecornu with a no-confidence vote. While this situation is still ongoing and constantly changing, it will likely not yield good results for French politics.