French President Emmanuel Macron is facing growing calls to hold snap elections or even to tender his resignation after the resignation of the country’s fifth prime minister in less than two years.
In a sign of the deepening turmoil, two of those former prime ministers have now distanced themselves from the embattled president, with one, Gabriel Attal, once a loyal ally, saying he was incapable of understanding Macron’s decisions.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who triggered the latest crisis with his abrupt resignation on Monday over resistance to his Cabinet picks, is holding held last-ditch talks to form a new government on Tuesday at the behest of Macron in a desperate bid to return to stability.
What did Macron’s former allies say?
On Monday evening, Attal, who was appointed prime minister in January 2024, during Macron’s second term, told broadcaster TF1: “Like many French people, I no longer understand the president’s decisions.”
Attal was one of those who expressed disapproval of the president’s surprise decision in June 2024 to dissolve the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, which led to its being stacked with Macron opponents who have brought down each of his minority governments in turn.
Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Macron’s first after taking office in 2017, said on Tuesday that it was time for a new president to end the turmoil.
“He [Macron] must now address this dereliction of the state, take a decision commensurate with his function and, in my view, that’s guaranteeing the continuity of our institutions by leaving in an orderly manner,” he told RTL radio.
He said Macron should resign after the National Assembly adopts a 2026 budget.
Philippe said the president “should say we cannot let what we have been experiencing for the past six months drag on. Another 18 months would be far too long and would harm France.”
Macron has previously said that he wants to stay in his job until his second and last presidential term ends in 2027.
Lecornu holds emergency talks
Lecornu, 39, who is Macron’s fourth prime minister since the dissolution, after Attal, Michel Barnier and Francois Bayrou, has been given another 48 hours by the president to hold more “final negotiations” in the hope of restoring national stability.
On Tuesday, he met with officials from the so-called Socle Commun or “common platform” — a coalition of conservatives and centrists that had given fragile support to Macron’s prime ministers until crumbling at the announcement of Lecornu’s Cabinet.
Lecornu will, however, also need support from the Socialists to be able to form a majority in the National Assembly, and not least to pass a budget for next year.
‘Cohabitation’ on the cards
Macron’s rivals have suggest three options for ending the impasse: resigning, calling snap elections or appointing a prime minister who does not belong to his political camp.
The last option, known in France as cohabitation, is favored by left-wing parties, which have a strong presence in the National Assembly.
The far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen for its part would like to see snap elections, as it currently has a large lead in polls.
“I call on the president of the Republic to hear the suffering in the country, to come out of his isolation, and to dissolve the National Assembly,” National Rally president Jordan Bardella said. “We must go back to the French people so they can choose a majority for themselves. We are ready to take responsibility.”
Macron, who has record-low approval ratings in surveys, has not yet said what action he will take.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
