Parliamentary System Fail: France’s New Government Collapses In Just 14 Hours

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned from his post on Monday after only 27 days in power, marking his term as the shortest in France’s history since the Republic’s inception in 1958.

Lecornu, a senior figure in President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party, resigned the government under pressure from conservatives just 14 hours after naming key members of his cabinet, Politico reported Monday. He was appointed prime minister on September 9, 2025, replacing PM François Bayrou, and previously served as Macron’s minister of the Armed Forces.

Lecornu’s government will continue to operate until a new PM is appointed by Macron, according to The Associated Press. Macron now must either make his sixth PM appointment since his reelection in 2022, or dissolve the lower house of the Parliament and call early legislative elections.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right movement, called for parliamentary elections following Lecornu’s resignation. “There is no solution, there won’t be one tomorrow: I call on the President of the Republic to dissolve the National Assembly,” Le Pen said on X Monday.

“The political parties continue to adopt a posture as if they all had an absolute majority in the National Assembly,” Lecornu said in his resignation speech on Monday. “And basically, I found myself in a situation where I was ready to compromise, but each political party wants the other political party to adopt its entire program.”

The Office of President Macron did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Lecornu was ousted from leadership after a bloc of 50 conservatives in parliament objected to his choice for defense minister, according to the AP. The pick, Bruno Le Mair, previously served as the economy and finance minister from 2017 to 2024, where he was blamed by Macron’s opponents for a surging deficit, the New York Times reported.

The new Prime Minister faced opposition from Macron’s opponents, who demanded clear policy changes from the new government before any collaboration would go forward, according to Politico. However, the announcement of key appointments on Sunday included a team filled with members of Macron’s last prime minister, who lost a vote of no confidence last month under similar pressures.

“The composition of the Government does not reflect the promised break,” Bruno Retailleau, minister of the interior and leader of the center-right Les Républicains, said in an X post on Monday. “Faced with the political situation created by this announcement, I am convening the strategic committee of the Republicans tomorrow morning.”

Lecornu now has 48 hours to save his government, according to Politico, with Macron greenlighting “final negotiations by Wednesday evening” to hammer out an agreement with opposition pirates and establish an operational government.

“I have accepted, at the request of the President of the Republic, to hold final discussions with the political forces for the stability of the country,” Lecornu said in an X post on Monday. “I will tell the head of state on Wednesday evening whether this is possible or not, so that he can draw all the necessary conclusions.”