By Deveen Balasuriya
France, once viewed as a cornerstone of European political stability, is currently enduring one of the most chaotic times in its recent democratic history. In less than two years, the country has cycled through five prime ministers, each falling due to the same persistent issue; a divided parliament and a fragmented electorate have left President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government struggling to govern effectively.
A Crisis Years in the Making
The most recent victim of this crisis was Sébastien Lecornu, a longtime supporter of Macron who resigned less than 24 hours after naming his cabinet on October 6, 2025, and 27 days after assuming duties in office. His resignation marked yet another turning point in a saga of political paralysis that has affected France since 2022, when Macron lost his parliamentary majority. This instability has prevented the government from passing a budget, shaken financial markets, and increased public frustration with political leaders.
The roots of France’s current political chaos can be traced back to 2022 when President Macron’s centrist coalition, Ensemble, lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly after his re-election. For the first time in decades, a sitting president found himself without a workable parliamentary base. What followed was a difficult balancing act was governing without majority support in a deeply polarized assembly.
The Fall of Élisabeth Borne
Élisabeth Borne had been appointed in May 2022 after Macron’s reelection for a second term. She was France’s second female prime minister. The following month, Macron’s centrists lost their majority in parliament, forcing the government into political maneuvering and using special constitutional powers to be able to pass laws. In 2021, Borne faced mass protests often marred by violence against unpopular pension changes.
After months of controversy over a divisive immigration bill and increasing dissent within Macron’s own ranks, she stepped down on January 8, 2024, as part of a broader government reshuffle. In her resignation letter, Borne claimed it was “more necessary than ever to push on with reforms,” but the truth was that her government had lost that ability. Borne’s resignation marked the end of an era characterized by political fatigue.
Macron’s choice for her successor was a calculated risk — Gabriel Attal, a young, energetic figure and one of his closest allies. Appointed on January 9, 2024, Attal was supposed to represent regeneration, a fresh face to revitalize Macron’s second term and prepare for the European elections. But it did not pan out as intended.
Experiment of the Youngest Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal
Attal’s appointment initially sparked optimism. At 34, he became the youngest prime minister in French history, promising a new approach to old problems. Yet within months, he found himself caught in the same political deadlock that had led to Borne’s downfall.
By mid-2024, Macron called snap legislative elections to break the stalemate and regain control of the National Assembly. The result was tragic for the president, and his centrist alliance lost even more seats. The left-wing New Popular Front surged, the far-right National Rally continued its rise in rural France, and the traditional center-right Les Republicans were further marginalized. France’s political landscape shattered. After these disappointing election results, Attal resigned in July 2024.
A Parade of Prime Ministers
The following year resembled a tragic comedy of political dysfunction. Michel Barnier, the former EU Brexit chief negotiator, was appointed as Prime Minister on September 5, 2024. However, his tenure was short-lived. On December 4, 2024, just three months after taking office, his government was brought down by a vote of no confidence in Parliament, with 331 out of 577 lawmakers voting against him. Barnier resigned the following day, December 5, 2024, after his government’s defeat in the National Assembly. The no-confidence motion followed his decision to use special constitutional powers to force the 2025 budget through Parliament without a vote.
As a result, François Bayrou was appointed Prime Minister on December 13, 2024. He pledged fiscal responsibility and national unity. However, Bayrou’s premiership also proved unstable. On September 8, 2025, he called for a confidence vote after proposing an unpopular austerity budget aimed at cutting public spending by €44 billion. The plan included freezes on pensions and cuts to civil service jobs. The next day, September 9, 2025, Bayrou resigned after losing the confidence vote, with 364 deputies voting against his government and only 194 in favor.
His successor, Sébastien Lecornu, a close ally of President Macron and former Minister of Defense, was seen as a final attempt to restore stability. Appointed on September 10, 2025, Lecornu sought to win over moderate socialists by proposing new taxes on high earners, hoping to build a fragile coalition around a left-leaning budget. His tenure, however, became the shortest in modern French history.
His proposed cabinet angered nearly everyone which Macron’s centrists, the left, and the right. When the Socialist Party announced plans to vote against his government, Lecornu abruptly resigned just hours after introducing his new cabinet. Financial markets reacted sharply, and the euro briefly fell against the dollar amid fears of continued instability.
The Deadlock at the Heart of French Politics
The collapse of five governments in under two years raises a key question: is France still governable under its current political system?
France’s Fifth Republic, founded in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle, was designed to avoid this kind of paralysis. The semi-presidential system gives the president significant power, while the prime minister manages daily governance with parliamentary support. For decades, this system produced stable majorities and strong governments. However, Macron’s situation shows its breaking point: when no party commands a majority, the system stalls.
Today, the French National Assembly is the most fragmented in the Fifth Republic’s history, with 13 different political groups represented up from seven in 2017. Macron’s centrist bloc holds only a plurality, while the left and right are divided among multiple factions. Essentially, France’s parliament now resembles those of Belgium or the Netherlands, which are used to coalition politics. But unlike those countries, France’s two-round electoral system was never meant for such division.
President Emmanuel Macron’s Position
President Macron now finds himself in a nearly impossible position. Macron has ruled out resigning, insisting that France must remain stable. However, every failed appointment, lost confidence vote, and protest chips away at his authority. Frustration is growing within his party. Meanwhile, opposition leaders from both the left and right demand either new elections or constitutional changes. Some within Macron’s circle are reportedly considering a more radical option of introducing proportional representation to better reflect the diversity of political opinions. But such a reform would require changing the Constitution which a daunting task given the current political deadlock.
Macron is now halfway through his second and final term as president, but these setbacks are likely to have a significant impact on his party’s prospects in the 2027 election race. He now faces intense pressure; either find someone who can bridge parliamentary divides or risk losing control altogether.
France and the World: Diplomatic Implications
The domestic crisis has begun to affect France’s role on the international stage. Macron, once a leading figure in European diplomacy, now faces diminished credibility abroad. His failure to maintain a stable government has raised concerns in Brussels about France’s reliability as an EU partner, especially as Europe encounters economic challenges, migration issues, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
France’s diplomatic corps has tried to show continuity, but behind the scenes, European officials worry that Macron’s weakness at home could limit his influence in negotiations over EU budget reform and defense integration. Paris’s allies are keeping a close watch, aware that prolonged instability in France could weaken the entire European project.
A Nation at a Crossroads
What France faces is not just a government crisis but a crisis of governability itself. Its current turmoil reflects more than just a series of failed governments. It highlights a nation struggling to reconcile generational divides, regional disparities, and ideological polarization within an outdated political framework. With five prime ministers in less than two years, a stalled legislature, and a deeply divided electorate, the institutions of the Fifth Republic are being tested like never before.
The coming months will determine whether France can find a way out through reform, new elections, or an unlikely coalition or whether it will remain trapped in a cycle of instability that could reshape its democracy for years to come.
Unless Macron or his successor can create a new political consensus or reinvent the structure of French democracy, the Fifth Republic’s greatest strength, its stability which might soon become a thing of the past.
Deveen Balasuriya is a first year law undergraduate at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), with a keen interest in human rights, international relations, and Sri Lanka’s economic and foreign policy. He can be reached through balasuriyadeveen2@gmail.com
Factum is an Asia-Pacific-focused think tank on International Relations, Tech Cooperation, and Strategic Communications accessible via www.factum.lk.
The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the organization’s.
