A sense of déjà vu has descended on France’s National Assembly with the resignation of its prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu – the fifth in less than two years – after just 27 days in office. As he deserted his post, Lecornu described himself as “the weakest prime minister of the Fifth Republic”. It’s a rare moment of self-flagellation for a politician, yet encapsulates the circus that has come to define French politics.
Lecornu’s departure throws a massive spanner in the works for President Emmanuel Macron’s government, plunges France into greater political instability and compounds the economic malaise dogging Europe’s second-largest economy. It’s a troubling legacy for a president who swept to power in 2017 as a radical centrist promising to modernise France’s welfare state and over-regulated labour markets, kick-start enterprise and growth and stave off the nativist National Rally’s push to shut French doors to migrants and the European Union.
Loading…