On Monday, France faced a political crisis after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned shortly after announcing his new cabinet, leaving the nation without a functioning government or approved 2026 budget and unsettling European financial markets.
In a Monday statement, Lecornu criticized the “inconsistency of French political parties” and their lack of cooperation in a fragmented National Assembly.
“All behave as if they had a majority,” he said, accusing rivals of prioritizing partisan ambitions before the 2027 presidential election. “The conditions were no longer in place for me to carry out my duties as Prime Minister. One must always put one’s country before one’s party.”
The resignation came after a late-night clash with Les Républicains (LR) leader Bruno Retailleau, who had been named interior minister in Lecornu’s cabinet. Retailleau accused the prime minister of “betraying the promised ‘political renewal’,” stating he would convene LR’s strategic committee to reconsider the party’s participation.
“The composition of the government does not reflect the promised break,” Retailleau noted, indicating a significant rupture for the cabinet.
According to LR sources, tensions emerged from Lecornu’s focus on President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, sidelining potential coalition partners from the right and center.
Lecornu’s exit leaves President Macron with challenges of forming a new government and securing parliamentary approval for the delayed 2026 budget, amid warnings of a deepening institutional crisis without a clear majority in the National Assembly.
Opposition leaders reacted swiftly. Jordan Bardella, head of the far-right National Rally (RN), asserted, “there can be no return to stability without new elections and the dissolution of the National Assembly.” Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise called for the “impeachment of Emmanuel Macron.”
The political upheaval impacted financial markets on Monday. Paris’s CAC 40 index dropped 1.24% by 10 a.m. CEST, while the STOXX Europe 600 declined 0.28%. The euro fell 0.3% against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.1675, indicating investor concern over France’s fiscal path.
Economists caution that ongoing uncertainty may affect France’s credit outlook and diminish its role in upcoming EU budget talks amid growing fiscal and geopolitical pressures.
As of Monday afternoon, the Élysée Palace had not announced an interim government or a timeline for appointing a new prime minister, leaving France and much of Europe in suspense.
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