Macron’s French Governments: Another Prime Minister Goes Up in Smoke

If you thought French politics couldn’t get any messier, think again. Enter Sébastien Le Cornu: prime minister for a whopping 27 days, cabinet in place for just 14 hours, and already waving the white flag. Funny enough, the political circus in Paris seems to operate on the rule that if one prime minister fails, just pick another — rinse, repeat, and hope Macron doesn’t get caught in the fallout. Spoiler alert: he always does.

The Briefest Prime Minister in Modern History?

Le Cornu’s exit was almost poetic. In his short address to the nation, he blamed the opposition parties for being impossible to work with, saying he was ready to compromise, but “each political party wants the others to adopt its entire program.” Basically, everyone wants to be king of the sandbox — and poor Le Cornu just realized he brought a plastic shovel to a tank battle.

Let’s be real: the guy stepped into an impossible situation. Macron had already gone through four prime ministers in three years — yes, four — each leaving a trail of political carnage. Le Cornu was essentially walking over fresh rubble, trying to rebuild the Eiffel Tower with toothpicks.

A Cabinet in 14 Hours

After weeks of painstakingly assembling his team, Le Cornu finally unveiled a cabinet Sunday night. Cue the fanfare. Except, some names were straight-up recycled, like Bruno Le Maire, recently ousted as finance minister but now recycled into defense — because why not? France’s deficit is soaring near 6% of GDP, but hey, let’s throw him into a role that’s basically a black hole for money. What could possibly go wrong?

Turns out, a lot. The opposition didn’t even wait to see what Le Cornu had planned — the complaints started Sunday night as if the power had gone out during a Ligue 1 match. By Monday morning, he was in the Elysee Palace, handing in his resignation and dropping Macron squarely in the blast radius.

The Jacuzzis and the Own Goals

Le Cornu tried to explain his failure in 15 minutes: no way to get politicians to agree on a budget, an impossible climb, better to pour himself a glass of chardonnay in a jacuzzi and retreat to base camp. (Honestly, can you blame him?)

He also made the curious choice of refusing to invoke clause 49.3 of the French constitution — a move that allows laws to pass without parliamentary approval. Previous Macron-appointed PMs loved that clause. But Le Cornu, respecting democracy or whatever, opted out. Predictably, that decision made passing a budget impossible. Nice own goal, buddy.

Macron’s Political Minefield

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Macron is in a political death spiral. He’s tossed prime ministers under the bus so many times that suspension straps are probably frayed. And with the opposition threatening renewed impeachment efforts, the president himself might soon feel the heat.

Le Cornu even can’t claim maximum perks for his fleeting tenure. A private chauffeur? Only for ten years, not life. Government appointees? €10,000 a month for three months for 14 hours of work — and that’s if they remain unemployed. Not exactly a reward for a heroic political effort.

Why French Politics Is a Never-Ending Soap Opera

At the heart of this chaos is a fractured National Assembly and a president trying to manage it all. Macron’s hand-picked prime ministers have become cannon fodder in a system where compromise is near-impossible. Each new government seems doomed before it even starts — a cycle of appointment, collapse, and replacement that’s almost comedic if it weren’t so serious.

So, what’s next? Another prime minister, another recycled cabinet, another round of political chaos. Le Cornu may have been brief, but he’s just another note in the long, explosive history of French governments under Macron. And we’re left watching, popcorn in hand, as Paris continues its political fireworks show.