French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecorne has stepped down after just 27 days in office, making his tenure the briefest in the history of the French republic since 1958.
Lecorne, who is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s Centre Renaissance Party, left his position a mere 14 hours after appointing key Cabinet members, according to reports from Politico. He had taken over as Prime Minister on September 9, 2025, succeeding François Beyloux, who previously served as Minister of the Armed Forces.
The Lecorne government will remain in place until Macron appoints a new Prime Minister. This marks the sixth such appointment since Macron’s re-election in 2022, unless he chooses to dissolve the House of Representatives and call for early legislative elections.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right movement in France, has urged for parliamentary elections following Lecorne’s resignation. “There is no solution. There is no tomorrow. I urge the President to dissolve Parliament,” she stated on Monday.
Lecorne, in his resignation speech, noted, “Some participants act as if they hold an absolute majority in the parliament,” a realization that put him in a position of compromise where no party was willing to fully adopt another’s program.
Macron’s office has not yet commented on Lecorne’s resignation.
The resignation reflects the deep divisions within the French parliament, with over 320 out of 530 members holding far-left and far-right views. Lecorne lost his leadership after a conservative bloc of 50 opposed his choice for defense minister. This selection, Bruno Le Maire, had previously served as Minister of Economy and Finance from 2017 to 2024.
As reported by Politico, Lecorne faced considerable pushback from Macron’s opponents, particularly following a recent announcement that retained many members from Macron’s previous administration. The leader of the center-right Republican party criticized the new government’s composition as not aligning with the promised change.
Lecorne was given 48 hours to stabilize his government. Macron had indicated a willingness for final discussions with political factions to establish an operational government by midweek.
“I accepted the President’s request for final discussions to maintain stability,” Lecorne said. “By Wednesday evening, I will inform the President whether this is feasible, allowing him to make any necessary decisions.”
