On Monday 6 October, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu handed in his resignation to the President of the Republic, less than 24 hours after his government was appointed the previous evening. This is a first in the Fifth Republic. The stated cause of this debacle is said to be disagreements among the new ministers from both the presidential party and the Republicans (LR), further exacerbating the political crisis that has been going on for months. Lecornu has since been tasked by President Macron with reaching an agreement with the parties in order to avoid another dissolution of the National Assembly, or even the resignation of the president, as demanded by the Rassemblement National (RN) and La France Insoumise (LFI).

This unprecedented reversal offers the world a pathetic spectacle, which undermines France’s credibility on the markets and on the diplomatic stage. Emmanuel Macron is being criticised for the first time within his own camp, including by his former prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal. While no clear prospects seem to be emerging at the moment, new negotiations on pension reform could be the turning point in resolving the crisis… until the next episode?