Lecornu governments
Government of France since 2025
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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.
Second: 10 October 2025
Lecornu governments | |
|---|---|
| |
| 47th and 48th Governments of French Fifth Republic | |
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| Date formed | First: 9 September 2025[a] Second: 10 October 2025 |
| Date dissolved | First: 10 October 2025[b] Second: Incumbent |
| People and organisations | |
| President of the Republic | Emmanuel Macron |
| Prime Minister | Sébastien Lecornu |
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature | Minority (coalition) |
| History | |
| Election | 2024 French legislative election |
| Predecessor | Bayrou government |
On 10 October, Lecornu was re-appointed as Prime Minister. He then formed the second Lecornu government (French: gouvernement Lecornu II), the forty-eighth and incumbent government of France.[6]
Formation
First government
On 9 September 2025, President Emmanuel Macron appointed Lecornu as Prime Minister following the fall of the Bayrou government.[7] After 26 days, the composition of the government was announced on 5 October, 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. [8][9]
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.[10][11]
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".[12][13][14]
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".[13]
Resignation
On 6 October 2025, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his cabinet resigned just one day after being formally appointed by President Emmanuel Macron.[15] 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.[16]
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.[17][18][19]
Re-appointment and reactions
Macron reappointed Lecornu as Prime Minister on 10 October.[20]
La France Insoumise's Manuel Bompard said that he considered the reappointment humiliating and vowed to impeach President Macron and file a motion of no confidence against Lecornu's second government.[21] The French Communist Party's Fabien Roussel called for a snap election.[22] The Ecologists, LFI and PCF will support the motion.[23] The Socialist Party's Pierre Jouvet said that a motion of no confidence was not ruled out because no agreement was reached with the government.[22]
The Republicans and the Union of Democrats and Independents said they would not join the coalition.[24] As a result, ministers appointed by Lecornu from The Republicans were expelled from the party.[25]
National Rally's Jordan Bardella deemed the reappointment shameful for France and democracy, saying that the National Rally would file a motion of no confidence.[26] The Union of the Right for the Republic's Éric Ciotti would support the motion.[23] He called on his former right-wing colleagues to join him to bring about great change, and welcomed them like a family.[27]
Motions of no confidence
October 2025
La France Insoumise and National Rally filed separate motions of no confidence on 16 October 2025.[28] The government survived both LFI's and RN's separate motions,[29] primarily because the Socialist Party supported the government after it promised to roll back pension reforms.[30]
January 2026
In protest of the EU–Mercosur Partnership Agreement, La France Insoumise and National Rally again filed separate motions of no confidence on 9 January 2026.[31] Again, the government survived both votes due to the support of the Socialist Party.[32]
Composition
Ministers
First Lecornu government
Second Lecornu government[34]
Deputy Ministers
First Lecornu government
| 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 | ||
Second Lecornu government
| Portfolio | Attached minister | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament | Prime Minister | Laurent Panifous | DVG | |
| Spokesperson of the Government of France | Maud Bregeon | RE | ||
| Minister Delegate for Gender Equality and the Fight against discriminations | Aurore Bergé | RE | ||
| Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior | Minister of the Interior | Marie-Pierre Vedrenne | MoDem | |
| Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces | Minister of the Armed Forces | Alice Rufo | SE | |
| Minister Delegate for the Sea and Fisheries | Minister of Ecological Transition | Catherine Chabaud | MoDem | |
| Minister Delegate for the Ecological Transition | Mathieu Lefèvre | RE | ||
| Minister Delegate for Industry | Minister of the Economy | Sébastien Martin | LR[f] | |
| Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital | Anne Le Hénanff | HOR | ||
| Minister Delegate for Europe | Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs | Benjamin Haddad | RE | |
| Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Attractiveness | Nicolas Forissier | LR[f] | ||
| Minister Delegate for La Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Abroad | Éléonore Caroit | RE | ||
| Minister Delegate for Autonomy and Persons with Disabilities | Minister for Health, Families, Autonomy and People with Disabilities | Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq | HOR | |
| Minister Delegate for Rural Affairs | Minister for Regional Planning and Decentralisation | Michel Fournier | SE | |
| Minister Delegate for the Civil Service and State Reform | Minister for Public Action and Accounts | David Amiel | RE | |
Notes
- The whole cabinet was formed on 5 October, but Lecornu himself was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 September.
- Lecornu tendered his resignation to President Macron on 6 October 2025, but remained caretaker Prime Minister until he was recommissioned on 10 October 2025.
- In the French National Assembly, motions of no confidence are voted on by open ballot, with only those in favor of the motion taking part in the vote. Since a majority of the entire membership is required, those who are absent or do not cast a ballot are de facto voting against.
- On 10 October, The Republicans voted not to participate in Lecornu's Second Government. As a result, the appointed ministers were suspended from the party.