French Caretaker Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who has tendered his resignation, is set to engage in a two-day cross-party negotiation at the behest of President Emmanuel Macron. On the same day, Macron’s political ally and former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe publicly expressed support for holding an early presidential election, posing a greater challenge to Macron.
Lecornu submitted his resignation letter to the cabinet on Monday morning. The cabinet list was only released the previous night and was promptly rejected by both the ruling party and the opposition, described by the media as the shortest-lived government in modern French history.
Macron subsequently tasked Lecornu with leading the negotiations and set Wednesday evening as the deadline, hoping to find a solution to the country’s political crisis. It is currently unclear what authority Lecornu holds in these discussions.
On Tuesday morning, Lecornu met with key figures from The Republicans (LR) and the Renaissance Party, including Senate President Gérard Larcher and National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet.
However, many in the political arena have expressed confusion and dissatisfaction with this move. Centrist lawmaker and former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said, “Like many French people, I can no longer understand the President’s decision.”
Meanwhile, President of the Horizons Party and former Prime Minister Philippe, in an interview with RTL radio, stated his support for holding an early presidential election in the current situation. Philippe was once a close ally of Macron.
Leader of the right-wing National Rally party Jordan Bardella also expressed a similar view, stating his support for dissolving the National Assembly first, followed by parliamentary elections or an early presidential election.
French business leaders have expressed unease, urging all political figures to demonstrate a sense of responsibility.
President of the French Business Association (Medef) Patrick Martin stated that this political crisis “has exacerbated the concerns already existing within our camp.”
He said, “We are witnessing this saddening political spectacle, and we urge all political actors to act responsibly.”
This crisis can be traced back to June 2024 when right-wing forces surged in the European Parliament elections, leading Macron to dissolve the National Assembly and call for early elections, resulting in a fractured parliament without a clear majority. With the absence of a tradition of coalition governance, the president’s tools for governing were limited.
Since then, Lecornu has become the third Prime Minister.
According to the French Constitution, Macron has four options: appointing a new Prime Minister, reappointing Lecornu as Prime Minister, dissolving parliament for a fresh election, or pushing for an early presidential election.
The main opposition party, the Socialist Party, has been urging Macron to appoint a left-wing Prime Minister, but he has resisted as a left-wing Prime Minister is likely to seek to overturn his pension and tax reforms.
Macron’s term is set to end in 2027, and he has so far ruled out the possibility of resigning or calling for a fresh parliamentary election. Currently, observers are closely watching whether Lecornu’s two-day negotiation can lead to a breakthrough.