France Prime Minister Resigns After Just 27 Days

France’s political turmoil deepened on Monday after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than a month into his term, marking one of the shortest tenures in modern French history.

The Élysée Palace confirmed that President Emmanuel Macron had accepted his resignation, just hours after Lecornu finalized his new cabinet. The move came amid mounting threats from political opponents to bring down his fledgling government.

Lecornu, who had only announced his cabinet lineup on Sunday, faced immediate backlash from across the political spectrum. Critics accused him of assembling a team that was either too right-wing or not conservative enough, reflecting the deep divisions in France’s fragmented parliament, where no single party holds a majority.

In his resignation speech at Matignon Palace, the 39-year-old Macron ally lamented that French politics had become unworkable due to partisan infighting.

“I was willing to compromise, but every political party demanded that the others adopt its entire platform,” he said.

Lecornu’s departure makes him the seventh prime minister appointed by Macron and the fifth in just two years, underlining the instability that has plagued the French government since the president’s re-election in 2022. His abrupt resignation after just 27 days in office sent shockwaves through Paris and financial markets alike.

The crisis has reignited calls from both the far-left and far-right for Macron to step down or dissolve parliament.

• Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed, demanded Macron’s impeachment.

• Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen of the National Rally urged the president to call another snap election, arguing that only fresh polls could restore stability.

The announcement also triggered a sharp drop in French stocks and the euro.

• Major banks such as Société Générale, BNP Paribas, and Crédit Agricole saw shares tumble — with Société Générale down more than 6% on the CAC 40 index, which itself fell 1.5%.

• The euro weakened against both the pound and the US dollar, while French bond yields rose to levels not seen since the last political deadlock.

Lecornu’s sudden exit leaves France once again searching for stability amid deep political division and growing market anxiety.