First Lecornu government

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First Lecornu government
47th Government of French Fifth Republic
Date formed9 September 2025 (2025-09-09)[a]
Date dissolved10 October 2025 (2025-10-10)[b]
People and organisations
President of the RepublicEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterSébastien Lecornu
Member parties
  •   RE
  •   LR
  •   MoDem
  •   HOR
Status in legislatureMinority (coalition)
History
Election2024 French legislative election
PredecessorBayrou government
SuccessorSecond Lecornu government

The first Lecornu government (French: gouvernement Lecornu I) was the forty-seventh government of France. It was formed in September 2025 after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister on 9 September,[1] replacing François Bayrou, who had been removed from office by a failed motion of confidence.[2] The list of ministers was announced on 5 October.[3][4]

Lecornu resigned less than 14 hours after presenting his cabinet on 6 October, 27 days after his appointment.[5] His government became the shortest-lived one in French history. On 10 October, Lecornu was re-appointed as Prime Minister.[6]

Formation

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See also: 2024–2025 French political crisis

After 26 days, the composition of the government was announced, with most of the ministers retaining their portfolios from the Bayrou government. As well as the continuing ministers, some other deputies from President Macron's Ensemble coalition were added, with former ministers Eric Woerth and Bruno Le Maire receiving portfolios again.

Out of 18 nominations, 4 are members of The Republicans, and 8 of them are former ministers from the more right-leaning factions of the Ensemble coalition. Despite this, Bruno Retailleau retaining the Ministry of the Interior, declared the same evening that the composition of the government "doesn't reflect the break" desired by The Republicans, who demanded a third of the ministries.[7][8]

Shortly after the nomination, the various leaders of the left-wing parties making up the New Popular Front expressed their outrage against the new cabinet: Fabien Roussel (French Communist Party) called it a "middle finger to the French" whilst Jean-Luc Mélenchon described it as a "parade of LR and former LR revenants"; Marine Tondelier (Les Écologistes) described the nominations as a "bonus for incompetence" and a "contempt for democracy", and Olivier Faure (Socialist Party) speaks of it as a complete "Panini album of the Sarkozy/Fillon government".[9][10][11]

For the far-right, Jordan Bardella (National Rally) also criticised the composition of the government, whilst Éric Ciotti (Union of the Right for the Republic) also invoked the image of a "middle finger".[10]

Resignation

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On 6 October 2025, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his cabinet resigned just one day after being formally appointed by President Emmanuel Macron.[12] The resignation came amid widespread political backlash over the composition of the new government, which included several figures closely associated with Macron’s previous administrations, and escalating tensions with Les Républicains, led by Bruno Retailleau. Lecornu had pledged to avoid using Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to push the 2026 budget through Parliament, instead advocating for a negotiated compromise. He also faced criticism for proposing a scaled-down version of the planned “Zucman tax” on wealth, limited to certain financial holdings. In his resignation statement, Lecornu cited the “absence of conditions necessary to govern” in a fragmented parliament. Following his departure, opposition parties called for early legislative elections, and reports suggested that President Macron was considering dissolving the National Assembly.[13] 

The Lecornu government became the shortest in French history, lasting only 14 hours between the appointment of its ministers and its resignation.[5] It notably beat the previous records held by Frédéric François-Marsal in 1924, Édouard Herriot in 1926 and Henri Queuille in 1950, which all only lasted two days before resigning or being removed by Parliament.[14][15][16]

Composition

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Ministers

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Portfolio Name Party
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu RE
Minister of State, Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research Élisabeth Borne RE
Minister of State, Minister of the Overseas Manuel Valls RE
Minister of State, Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin RE
Minister of State, Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau LR
Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Bruno Le Maire[c] RE
Sébastien Lecornu (interim)[d] RE
Minister of Labour, Health, Solidarity and Families, Autonomy and Persons with Disabilities Catherine Vautrin RE
Minister for Culture Rachida Dati LR
Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure RE
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot MoDem
Minister for Territorial Development and Decentralisation and Housing Eric Woerth RE
Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forest, Sea and Fishing Agnès Pannier-Runacher RE
Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Annie Genevard LR
Minister of Public Accounts Amélie de Montchalin RE
Minister of Public Action, Civil Service and Simplification, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Naïma Moutchou HOR
Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot LR
Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life Marina Ferrari MoDem

Deputy Ministers

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Portfolio Attached minister Name Party
Minister Delegate for Gender Equality and the Fight against discriminations Prime Minister Aurore Bergé RE
Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament Mathieu Lefèvre RE

Notes

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  1. ^ The whole cabinet was formed on 5 October, but Lecornu himself was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 September.
  2. ^ Lecornu tendered his resignation to President Macron on 6 October 2025, but remained caretaker Prime Minister until he was recommissioned on 10 October 2025.
  3. ^ 5–6 October 2025.[17]
  4. ^ Since 6 October 2025.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Ambrose, Tom; Sedghi, Amy; Graham, Vicky; Sedghi, Tom Ambrose (now); Amy; Graham (earlier), Vicky (10 September 2025). "New French PM takes office as 'Block Everything' protests rock country – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "French Government Collapses, Again, Deepening Paralysis". 8 September 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  3. ^ "La composition du gouvernement de Sébastien Lecornu". info.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Gouvernement Lecornu : la liste des 18 ministres nommés dimanche soir" (in French). 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b "The fall of France's 14-hour government". POLITICO. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  6. ^ "Macron picks Lecornu as French PM again". POLITICO. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Gouvernement Lecornu : Les Républicains exigent "un tiers du gouvernement" et attendent des réponses du Premier ministre, notamment sur l'immigration" [Lecornu Government: Republicans demand "one-third of the government" and await answers from the Prime Minister, particularly on immigration]. Franceinfo (in French). 3 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  8. ^ "À peine renommé, Bruno Retailleau prend (déjà) ses distances avec Sébastien Lecornu" [Barely re-elected, Bruno Retailleau is (already) distancing himself from Sébastien Lecornu]. parismatch.com (in French). 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  9. ^ "« Deux censures pour rien », un « choix pathétique »... RN, LFI, PS et Verts dépités par le gouvernement Lecornu" ["Two censorships for nothing", a "pathetic choice"... RN, LFI, PS and Greens disappointed by the Lecornu government]. leparisien.fr (in French). 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Les ministres du gouvernement Lecornu sont « un bras d'honneur aux Français »" [The ministers of the Lecornu government are "a middle finger to the French"]. 20 Minutes (in French). 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  11. ^ ""Retour des perdants", "Derniers macronistes agrippés au radeau" : les oppositions étrillent le gouvernement Lecornu - ici" ["Return of the losers", "Last Macronists clinging to the raft": the opposition criticizes the Lecornu government - here]. ici, le média de la vie locale (in French). 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  12. ^ "French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigns after less than a month". www.bbc.com. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  13. ^ Vandoorne, Joseph Ataman, Saskya (6 October 2025). "France's prime minister resigns after less than a month on the job". CNN. Retrieved 6 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Sébastien Lecornu and the world's other shortest political careers". POLITICO. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Il n'aura tenu que 14 heures : record d'éphémérité battu pour le gouvernement formé par Sébastien Lecornu". Le Télégramme (in French). 6 October 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Démission du Premier ministre : Ces devanciers de Lecornu qui l'avaient fait express". Le Canard enchaîné (in French). 6 October 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  17. ^ a b "What's next for France? Six questions to understand the consequences of Lecornu's resignation". Le Monde. Retrieved 6 October 2025.