Macron under pressure to quit as political crisis deepens in France

President Emmanuel Macron was on Tuesday under pressure even from allies to find a rapid solution to France’s political deadlock, after his first prime minister and one-time ally urged him to resign for the sake of the country.

Macron, president since 2017, has been battling the worst domestic political crisis of his presidency after the shock resignation on Monday of his seventh prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu.

Macron gave Lecornu until Wednesday evening to thrash out a compromise for a sustainable coalition government but it is far from certain these efforts can succeed.

If this fails, one option is for Macron to dissolve parliament and hold snap legislative elections in the hope of having a more workable make-up in the legislature.

Macron on Tuesday evening held talks with the speakers of both the upper and lower houses of parliament, said an aide, asking not to be named.

The purpose of the separate meetings was not made clear but the president is obliged to consult both speakers if new elections are planned.

Crisis ‘harming country’

After already going through three prime ministers within the space of a year, Macron faces growing exasperation, including within his own camp.

His outgoing spokeswoman Aurore Berge insisted Tuesday that he would stay in office “until the last minute of his term” in 2027.

But former prime minister Edouard Philippe, Macron’s premier from 2017 to 2020, said presidential polls should be held early once a budget is passed, in comments Le Parisien daily described as a “political bomb”.

The next presidential elections, where the far right under Marine Le Pen scents its best ever chance of winning power, are due in 2027 with Macron barred from running and Philippe already declared as a candidate.

Denouncing a “distressing political game”, Philippe told the broadcaster RTL it was up to Macron to help France “emerge in an orderly and dignified manner from a political crisis that is harming the country”.

The other option for Macron is to appoint an entirely new prime minister who would be the eighth head of government of his mandate.

France has been locked in a political crisis since Macron’s gamble to hold legislative elections in the summer of 2024 backfired, resulting in a hung parliament and strengthened far right.

The domestic isolation of Macron, who was filmed Monday walking alone by the banks of the Seine deep in a telephone conversation, contrasts with his visibility on the international stage, where he is seeking to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine alongside President Donald Trump.

‘Umpteenth negotiations’

Lecornu planned meetings with political groups from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning in an attempt to break the impasse.

By late Tuesday momentum was growing for him to open the door to suspending a deeply unpopular pensions reform pushed through in 2023, said leftist politician Raphael Glucksmann as he left the prime minister’s office.

But it would underscore the challenges facing the next premier of finding enough support for a cost-cutting budget at a time when France’s public debt has reached a record high.

Le Pen, whose candidacy in the presidential elections is in severe doubt due to a fraud conviction, said it would be “wise” for Macron to resign but also urged snap legislative polls as “absolutely necessary”.

Le Pen and her 30-year-old lieutenant Jordan Bardella, who is expected to stand for the presidency if she is barred over a court conviction, turned down Lecornu’s invitation for talks, their National Rally party said.

“These umpteenth negotiations no longer aim to protect the interests of the French people, but those of the president himself,” the party added.

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said his party would attend talks with Lecornu, adding that the next premier should come from the left.