France is imploding before our eyes. Five prime ministers in two years, a president despised by seven in ten citizens, and a constitution gasping for air. Sébastien Lecornu’s 14-hour government was not a mishap; it was a symptom of a Republic on the verge of breakdown.
With the resignation of Sébastien Lecornu after barely fourteen hours as prime minister—the fifth to fall in just two years—France finds itself caught in a deep political and institutional crisis. What is collapsing is not merely a government but the credibility of the entire political system under President Emmanuel Macron.
France in deep political crisis
This is more than a momentary stumble. It is a systemic implosion. The Fifth Republic, built in 1958 to guarantee strong executive power and stable governance, now shows signs of constitutional fatigue.
As journalist Régis Le Sommier put it, France has “reached the end of a constitutional exercise.” The mechanism designed by de Gaulle to produce decisive majorities now traps presidents in perpetual minority rule.
Since Macron’s ill-fated dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024, France has been living in a state of institutional limbo: a head of state without majority support, a parliament fragmented into hostile camps, and a country fatigued by endless reshuffles.
Lecornu’s lightning fall
The Lecornu government’s fall, in less than a day, symbolises the absurdity of France’s predicament. Having announced his government on Sunday evening, Lecornu, one of Macron’s last loyalists, promised “renewal and dialogue”.
By Monday morning, he was gone. The spark was a revolt within the conservative Les Républicains (LR), angered by Lecornu’s unilateral appointment of Bruno Le Maire as defence minister, a symbol of Macron’s refusal to change course.
Within hours, the fragile coalition collapsed, with LR leader Bruno Retailleau walking out, the far-right National Rally (RN) demanding dissolution, and the left preparing a motion of censure. Lecornu’s resignation was not an act of weakness but a recognition of impossibility.
The fractured political landscape
France’s political landscape is now a mosaic of irreconcilable blocs. Macron’s centrist alliance, Renaissance, has shrunk to a minority of around 200 MPs. On the right, the Rassemblement National (Marine Le Pen) dominates with populist nationalism and promises of “sovereignty and order”.
The traditional right (Les Républicains) is split between moderates tempted by coalition and hardliners seeking distance from “Macronism.” On the left, the Nouveau Front Populaire (a coalition of Socialists, Greens, Communists, and La France Insoumise) remains divided between institutional reformists and radical opposition.
In such a landscape, no stable majority is mathematically possible. The very idea of “governing” has become hostage to personal ambitions and presidential posturing. As political historian Jean Garrigues noted, French politicians “have not understood that the Fifth Republic has changed, and the French expect something else from their leaders”.
Macron: the problem or the symptom?
For many, Emmanuel Macron is the crisis. Once the self-styled “Jupiterian” reformer, he now presides over chaos of his own making. An Odoxa poll shows that 78% of French citizens think Macron is not a good president, while 22% are favourable.
From the far right to the radical left, the chant is the same: “Macron doit partir.” Even within his own camp, figures like Gabriel Attal and Édouard Philippe have declined to serve in yet another doomed cabinet.
Macron’s political method—ruling through technocracy, bypassing parliament, and projecting grandeur abroad—has become tone-deaf. His hyperactivity on the world stage, from Ukraine to Gaza, contrasts sharply with paralysis at home. The president, who once embodied modernity, now appears as a solitary figure, isolated in the Élysée, surrounded by courtiers rather than counsellors.
Is France governable?
The question many now dare to ask is brutal: is France simply ungovernable? Christophe Barbier, a French political journalist, calls it “an implosion of politics upon itself”.
Each faction, driven by presidential ambition, blocks the other. No compromise holds; no coalition lasts. With five prime ministers in two years and a parliament unable to legislate, governance has become performative.
Political paralysis now threatens to metastasise into a financial one. France’s credit rating is under scrutiny; Brussels is pressing for budgetary discipline. If investors lose confidence in French debt, the crisis could spill into the wider eurozone—a nightmare reminiscent of the southern European debt turmoil of the early 2010s.
France’s deficit stands at 5.8% of GDP; public debt exceeds €3.3 trillion. Investors are nervous, and European partners, particularly Germany, are alarmed. As Berlin’s commentators warn, French instability risks shaking the eurozone itself. The Paris stock exchange has already dipped, reflecting growing doubts about the country’s ability to manage its finances amid political chaos.
Possible scenarios
Three paths now lie before Macron, none enviable:
– Dissolution and early elections: This would restore legitimacy but likely deliver a parliament dominated by the far right or a fractured left. It could also accelerate Macron’s political demise.
– A government of “national unity”: An improbable coalition between centrists, moderate leftists, and conservatives. Given mutual mistrust and electoral calculations, this remains theoretical.
– Macron’s resignation: The “Gaullist option,” as invoked by Le Sommier, would honour the spirit of the Fifth Republic. Yet Macron has vowed to finish his mandate “to the last day”.
Each scenario risks deepening polarisation rather than resolving it.
Lessons from the French crisis
The fall of yet another government exposes more than Macron’s hubris; it reveals the exhaustion of an entire political model. The Fifth Republic, designed for stability, has become a trap of rigidity. The “presidential monarchy” de Gaulle created now alienates citizens who no longer feel represented. The institutions that once ensured order now amplify fragmentation.
France’s malaise is not merely about personalities but about legitimacy. The gap between the governed and the governing has become unbridgeable. The French no longer believe in their elites—political, media, or economic. They are not demanding another technocrat, but a new social contract.
In the end, Macron’s tragedy is that he wanted to be de Gaulle but has become Pompidou, a president trapped in inertia, unable to command loyalty or renewal. France does not need another reshuffle. It needs to reinvent democracy itself.
Ricardo Martins, PhD in Sociology, specializing in International Relations and Geopolitics
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