French President Emmanuel Macron came under mounting pressure on Tuesday as a deepening government crisis shakes his leadership, with former prime ministers and political allies openly turning against him and calling on him to resign.
The developments followed the resignation a day earlier of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who quit after only a month in office.
Former premier Édouard Philippe, who served under Macron from 2017 to 2020 and plans to run in the 2027 presidential election, urged the president to step down, saying it was the only way to overcome months of political deadlock.
Macron should announce he is “organizing an early presidential election,” Philippe told RTL radio.
Gabriel Attal, a Macron loyalist who served as prime minister from January to September 2024, also criticized Macron’s recent decisions.
“I no longer understand the president’s decisions,” he told broadcaster TF1 on Monday evening.
Attal said Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call snap elections in June 2024 was followed by moves suggesting “he wants to cling to power at all costs.” Attal is also seen as a potential 2027 candidate.
Macron rules out resignation
Macron has so far ruled out stepping down despite demands from all quarters, but most loudly from far left parties and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
The president has insisted he was directly elected by the French people and will serve his term until spring 2027.
However, Macron said on Monday he would “assume his responsibility” if last-ditch efforts by caretaker Lecornu to resolve the crisis fail — a phrase widely interpreted as a signal that he could dissolve parliament and call new elections.
That’s because with no political faction holding a majority in the National Assembly, a new prime minister could quickly face the same deadlock as Lecornu and his two immediate predecessors, Michel Barnier and François Bayrou. They also only lasted a few months in the job.
After Lecornu’s surprise resignation on Monday, Macron asked him to remain in office temporarily and meet with political leaders through Wednesday evening to somehow chart a path forward and stabilize the country.
It’s not yet clear if any progress has been made.
Lecornu met on Tuesday with leaders of Macron’s centrist alliance and the heads of both parliamentary chambers, and was due to meet other party leaders later in the day and on Wednesday morning. Le Pen’s National Rally declined to attend.
Budget and New Caledonia at centre of crisis talks
Lecornu said the talks would focus on two urgent issues — France’s 2025 budget and the future status of the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. “All participants agreed on the urgency of these two issues and expressed a willingness to find a rapid solution,” he said.
Highly-indebted France urgently needs to pass a deficit-cutting budget, while New Caledonia faces unrest and is expected to be granted greater autonomy.
Lecornu, who became prime minister only a month ago after serving as defence minister, resigned after facing criticism over his new government line-up.
Bruno Retailleau, who remained interior minister, had threatened to pull his party out of the coalition over what he saw as poor representation for his The Republicans party.
Lecornu tendered his resignation before a crisis meeting of the conservative party, accusing parties of political obstruction. According to broadcaster BFMTV, the conservatives have since left open the possibility of Retailleau returning in a future government.
Political gridlock and fiscal strain
France has been mired in political deadlock since the snap election in mid-2024, which left no camp with a majority. The country’s high public debt has underscored the need for cross-party agreement on spending cuts, but deep divisions have persisted.
Whether Lecornu can unite the fractured parties within 48 hours to form a new government remained unclear on Tuesday. No details of his talks were immediately available.
The Socialist, Communist and Green parties — which performed strongly in last year’s snap election — urged Macron to appoint a left-wing prime minister. “We are ready to govern together to pursue a policy of social and ecological progress and tax justice, and to restore parliament to its rightful place,” they said in a joint statement.
The hard-left France Unbowed party did not join the appeal, reflecting the deep rift within the left bloc despite their previous electoral alliance.
