French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, just days after unveiling a new Cabinet that drew swift and fierce criticism from across the political spectrum.
On Monday, Macron accepted Lecornu’s resignation, broadcaster BFM TV reported, citing the Elysee Palace.
Lecornu, appointed less than a month ago after the collapse of François Bayrou’s government, presented a largely unchanged Cabinet lineup on Sunday. His announcement triggered an immediate backlash, with opposition leaders accusing Macron of ignoring voters’ calls for renewal.
“The choice to keep this government unchanged, seasoned with the man who bankrupted France, is pathetic,” far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen wrote on X, referring to the return of former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as defence chief.
Green Party leader Marine Tondelier said Macron’s allies had taken their “contempt for democracy to a new level,” while Socialist leader Boris Vallaud accused the government of “plunging the country deeper into chaos every day.”
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he would convene a strategic committee of the Republicans to assess the political fallout, adding that the new Cabinet “does not reflect the promised break.”
