PARIS--French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday tasked his outgoing prime minister, who had resigned earlier in the day, to hold last-ditch talks with other political parties to try to chart a path out of the crisis.
Sebastien Lecornu had tendered his government's resignation only hours after announcing his cabinet line-up, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern French history and deepening the country's political crisis. It was not immediately clear what Lecornu's task would entail. France's constitution allows Macron to reappoint Lecornu as prime minister, should he wish. Macron gave Lecornu - who will hold meetings with political parties on Tuesday morning - 48 hours. "The president has entrusted Mr Sebastien Lecornu, the outgoing Prime Minister in charge of day-to-day affairs, with the responsibility of conducting final negotiations by Wednesday evening to define a platform for action and stability for the country," the Elysee Palace said in a statement. Lecornu said he had accepted the president's request. His shock resignation announcement earlier drove stocks and the euro sharply lower. Macron's options are narrowing. He could name a new prime minister. A figure from within his own camp appears unlikely, and until now he has been unwilling to name a leftist, as the left wants to dilute his hard-won pension reform and tax the rich, whilst his more right-leaning premiers have failed to find broad backing. He could also choose to dissolve parliament and call snap elections, or resign. In past months, Macron, whose mandate runs until May 2027, has repeatedly ruled out stepping down or calling elections as France has sunk deeper into crisis, most recently over trying to find support for a 2026 budget. Lecornu resigned after allies and foes alike immediately threatened to topple his new government. Far-right and hard-left parties immediately zeroed in on Macron, urging him to call new snap parliamentary elections or quit. "This joke has gone on long enough, the farce must end," far-right National Rally chief Marine Le Pen said. Mathilde Panot, of the hard-left France Unbowed, said: "The countdown has begun. Macron must go." However, the Socialists said their preference was to avoid a snap election or a presidential resignation, and instead have Macron name a left-wing prime minister. On the streets of Paris, many were shocked at the worsening instability. "I've never seen this," said 79-year-old pensioner Gerard Duseteu. "I’m almost ashamed, even, to be French." Some said fresh elections seemed like the only option. "We cannot continue like this," said 20-year-old political sciences student Marius Loyer. Three-quarters of French people believe Lecornu was right to resign, while almost half blame Macron for France's turmoil, according to an Elabe poll for BFM TV on Monday. A relative majority believe that either dissolving parliament or Macron stepping down would break the stalemate. Two further polls from last month show that in the event of snap parliamentary elections, the RN would emerge the dominant bloc in a parliament still divided into three blocs, with none holding a majority.
