France’s political stage has rarely looked so turbulent, and the past week has only deepened the sense of national drama. In a move that shocked even seasoned observers, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned just 27 days into his tenure—making him the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history, according to The Independent. Yet, in a twist that few could have predicted, Lecornu was reappointed within days by President Emmanuel Macron, tasked once more with steering the government through what many are calling the country’s gravest political crisis in decades.
This latest episode began on Monday, October 13, 2025, when Lecornu, France’s fifth prime minister in just two years, abruptly announced his resignation. The timing was remarkable: he had unveiled his new cabinet only 14 hours earlier. The Elysee Palace, in a statement reported by Reuters, cited Lecornu’s conclusion that “a majority of deputies oppose dissolution (of parliament); a platform for stability exists; a path is possible to adopt a budget by December 31.” The message was clear—France was not heading for snap elections, at least for now.
Lecornu’s departure sent immediate shockwaves through the political and economic landscape. The Paris Stock Exchange tumbled by 2% and the euro fell 0.6% against the dollar, as reported by The Independent. The sense of instability was palpable, with investors and citizens alike wondering what could possibly come next for a country already battered by months of political deadlock and economic woes.
By Friday, October 17, the plot thickened: Macron, facing limited options, reappointed Lecornu as prime minister. Lecornu, accepting the role “out of duty” (as he put it), was charged with the formidable mission of forming a new cabinet and delivering a budget by the end of the year. “I have been given a mission to do everything to give France a budget by the end of the year and respond to the daily problems of our compatriots,” Lecornu stated, according to The Independent. But the challenges ahead were daunting, and the political cost of his survival was already mounting.
The roots of this crisis stretch back to June 2024, when Macron—reeling from his coalition’s defeat in the European Union elections—dissolved the National Assembly and called snap parliamentary elections. The gamble backfired spectacularly. The result was a hung parliament, with no bloc able to command a majority in the 577-seat chamber. Since then, the government has lurched from one crisis to another, unable to push through major reforms or stabilize the country’s finances.
France’s economic indicators paint a sobering picture. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, public debt had ballooned to €3.346 trillion, or 114% of gross domestic product, according to The Independent. The poverty rate reached 15.4% in 2023—the highest since records began in 1996. Macron’s flagship pension reform, which would have gradually increased the retirement age from 62 to 64, was forced through parliament in 2023 despite mass protests. Yet, this week, Lecornu’s survival in two parliamentary confidence votes came at a steep price: the suspension of the pension age increase, a move that, as John Downing wrote in the Irish Independent, could amount to a total rollback of Macron’s most controversial domestic achievement.
The government’s troubles are mirrored in the mood of the French public. According to a Verian survey for Le Figaro conducted between October 14 and 16, 2025, involving 1,000 respondents, the dominant emotions are despair (39%), fatigue (35%), sadness (21%), and fear (18%). For the first time in a year, shame (53%) surpassed anger (49%) among citizens frustrated with the ongoing instability. Only 1% of respondents reported positive feelings such as joy, pride, or satisfaction.
Political parties across the spectrum are suffering from a crisis of confidence. The left-wing party La France Insoumise received the highest negative ratings at 75%, followed closely by Macron’s Renaissance party at 72%. The Socialist Party and the Republicans each drew 66% negative assessments, while the far-right National Rally fared slightly better, with 51% negative and 36% positive responses, according to Le Figaro.
French citizens remain deeply divided on how to resolve the crisis. The Verian poll found that 12% of respondents advocated dissolving parliament, while 34% favored combining dissolution with Macron’s resignation to trigger early elections for both parliament and the presidency. Meanwhile, 25% believed the current government should stay in place to approve the budget and pursue reforms, while 12% suggested the government should only pass the budget and maintain basic state functions, postponing reforms until the next presidential elections. Seventeen percent were unsure of the best path forward.
Even the prospect of new elections fails to inspire much hope. Only 58% said they would definitely vote in early parliamentary elections, and 62% in early presidential elections—both figures below turnout rates in the 2024 and 2022 elections. Le Figaro observed, “It seems that rejection of the existing situation has become stronger than the desire for change.”
The political drama has not been lost on Macron’s allies and opponents alike. Former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe, both once close to Macron, have publicly questioned his decisions, with Philippe even calling for the president’s resignation and new presidential elections, as reported by The Independent. Meanwhile, opposition parties on both the left and right have clamored for fresh elections, hoping to capitalize on the government’s weakness.
Yet, as Dr. Pierre Purseigle of the University of Warwick told The Independent, the situation has become a “tragicomedy.” Elections may simply deepen the country’s paralysis, he warned, leaving France “to sink deeper into the paralysing mire it’s been in for over a year.” The real risk, he suggested, is that none of the severe economic, social, and international challenges facing France will be addressed as urgently as they must be.
For now, Lecornu faces the daunting task of passing a budget and restoring a semblance of stability to a deeply fragmented parliament. His government’s survival has come at the cost of suspending the pension reform, a move that may have wiped out Macron’s signature domestic achievement. With public debt and poverty at record highs, and public trust in politicians at record lows, the road ahead for France’s leaders—and its citizens—looks as uncertain as ever.
As the country waits to see whether this latest reshuffling will bring real change or simply more of the same, one thing is clear: France’s political crisis is far from over, and the stakes for its future could hardly be higher.
