As Emmanuel Macron strives to act like a modern-day Napoleon by escalating rhetoric against Russia, France itself is collapsing from within. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned after only twelve hours in office — setting a record for the shortest-lived government in the country’s modern history.
Lecornu’s Cabinet Survives Just 12 Hours
The government of Sébastien Lecornu, appointed on the evening of October 5, was dissolved before it could even present its fiscal program to Parliament. Lecornu was due to outline new budgetary priorities on October 7 after the downfall of former Prime Minister Michel Barnier, whose administration collapsed over plans to cut social benefits, raise taxes, and increase the retirement age.
Instead of introducing a fresh start, Lecornu reappointed nearly a dozen ministers from Barnier’s team, including former Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire — the architect of the unpopular budget proposal. This decision triggered an uproar across the political spectrum and accusations of “Macronism at its worst.”
Political Fracture Across France’s Parliament
The backlash was immediate and severe. All parliamentary factions — from the left to the right — turned against the new government. Even within Macron’s coalition, dissent erupted.
“We feel completely betrayed,” said Olivier Pacot, a senator from the Republicans party, threatening to leave the coalition if his party was denied representation in the new cabinet.
The Union of Democrats and Independents also withdrew from the ruling alliance, while members of Macron’s own Renaissance party expressed open dismay. “The entire political class tonight presented a depressing spectacle,” admitted the party’s chairman on Telegram.
Impeachment and Early Elections Loom
Lecornu’s resignation has thrown France into unprecedented political turmoil, with mounting calls to dissolve Parliament or even impeach Macron. France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has urged lawmakers to file an impeachment motion, while National Rally president Jordan Bardella demanded the immediate dissolution of the National Assembly and snap elections.
Support for Macron’s resignation also came from Cannes Mayor David Lisnard, head of the French Mayors’ Association. “The country is being ruled by a tribe of sociopaths who seized power,” said David Giraud, a lawmaker from the Nord party, during an appearance on BFMTV.
France on the Edge of Collapse
Former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve lamented what he called “irresponsibility at the highest level,” blaming “petty political maneuvering and personal ambitions” for dismantling France’s institutions.
Since Macron’s re-election in May 2022, the country has cycled through five prime ministers amid an economic crisis marked by a 6% budget deficit and public debt reaching 115.6% of GDP as of mid-2025, according to INSEE data.
Macron’s 'Napoleon Complex' Backfires
While Macron attempted to polish his image through grand gestures abroad — calling for NATO troop deployments in Ukraine and offering France’s nuclear deterrence as a European safeguard — his domestic authority has crumbled. His latest move, the seizure of a Russian oil tanker, was seen as a theatrical distraction from mounting unrest at home.
Macron’s “Napoleon complex,” analysts say, has led to one of the deepest political and institutional crises in modern French history — one from which he may not recover.
As France faces the possibility of both impeachment proceedings and new elections, critics say Macron’s presidency is ending not in triumph, but in humiliation — remembered as one of the weakest in the Fifth Republic.
