NPR | Monday, September 6, 2025 
France’s prime minister resigns after less than a month in office

Paris — Facing criticism from all sides, France’s new prime minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than 24 hours after naming his government and after less than a month in office, plunging the country into a deep political crisis. The French presidency said in a statement Monday that President Emmanuel Macron has accepted his resignation. Lecornu had replaced his predecessor François Bayrou to become France’s fourth prime minister in barely a year. A faithful ally of Macron, Lecornu said conditions were no longer met to remain in office after failing to build a consensus. “It would take little for it to work,” Lecornu said in his resignation speech. “By being more selfless for many, by knowing how to show humility. One must always put one’s country before one’s party.” Macron’s opponents immediately tried to capitalize on the shocking resignation, with the far-right National Rally calling on him to either call for new snap elections or resign. “This raises a question for the President of the Republic: can he continue to resist the legislature dissolution? We have reached the end of the road,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen said. “There is no other solution. The only wise course of action in these circumstances is to return to the polls.” On the far left, France Unbowed also asked for Macron’s departure, while voices on the left called for the revival of a coalition made up of leftists, socialists, greens and communists…Read more