On October 16, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu narrowly survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly, averting an immediate government collapse and providing a temporary reprieve in France’s ongoing political crisis.

The motions, tabled by the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) and the far-right National Rally (RN), garnered 271 and 197 votes respectively, falling 18 votes short of the 289 needed to topple the administration. This outcome, while a win for Mr. Lecornu and President Emmanuel Macron, underscores the fragility of their minority government amid a deeply divided Parliament.

Mr. Lecornu’s survival hinged on tactical concessions, including the suspension of Mr. Macron’s controversial pension reform and pledging not to invoke Article 49.3 — a constitutional tool allowing Bills to pass without a vote, often decried as undemocratic. The win was made possible largely by the Socialist Party’s abstention, secured through Prime Minister Lecornu’s decision to freeze the pension reform. Although an uneasy truce, it allowed the government to stand united, if only briefly, amid France’s deepening political chaos.

The roots of France’s political turmoil trace back to June 2024, when Mr. Macron — reeling from a humiliating defeat to Marine Le Pen’s RN in the European Parliament election — called snap legislative election in a bid to regain control. No single bloc secured an absolute majority in the 577-seat National Assembly. The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance emerged as the largest group with around 180 seats, followed by Mr. Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition with 163 seats, and Ms. Le Pen’s RN with 143. The rest were divided among smaller centrist and conservative parties. This hung the Parliament and triggered a series of short-lived governments, each felled by no-confidence threats or resignations.

Macron’s second term

Mr. Macron’s second term, which began in 2022, has been marred by successive crises. His 2023 pension reform, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, provoked months of nationwide strikes and protests. The measure, pushed through using Article 49.3, became a symbol of executive arrogance and democratic bypass. Since 2022, five Prime Ministers have cycled through Matignon — each undone by coalition fractures, Budget disputes, and the threat of no-confidence votes. This instability has eroded public trust and made France’s governance appear dysfunctional by European standards.

Meanwhile, economic anxiety has deepened the malaise. Data from Statista show that public debt has reached 114% of GDP, breaching EU fiscal targets. Ifop’s popularity indexes show only 19% of people say that they are satisfied with Mr. Macron’s performance as President. This is the lowest satisfaction level recorded since the start of his term in 2017. Once hailed as Europe’s pragmatic reformer, Mr. Macron has locked himself into the image of the “President of the rich”. Above all, he faces accusations of economic mismanagement and political hubris.

The immediate trigger for the October crisis was the chaotic appointment of Mr. Lecornu following the resignation of Francois Bayrou in September. Mr. Bayrou, a veteran centrist and former ally of Mr. Macron, quit after failing to form a government capable of passing the 2026 Budget. Facing an October 15 deadline to present fiscal plans to the EU, Mr. Macron turned to Mr. Lecornu — his loyal Defence Minister and trusted ally.

Mr. Lecornu’s initial days in office, however, were chaotic. The 39-year-old was brought in on September 9 to restore order. His task was to steady a presidency losing its grip. But his government barely lasted four weeks as he resigned on October 6, just 26 days into his new role, only to be reappointed four days later. This episode, widely ridiculed as political theatre, further eroded confidence. Ms. Le Pen called the political drama as “the end of the joke”, demanding a dissolution of the National Assembly. Outgoing Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher slammed the “circus” of French politics, while Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte declared: “Macronism is plunging the country into chaos.”

When Mr. Lecornu presented his austerity-laden Budget proposal, Opposition parties seized the moment. LFI’s motion condemned cuts to social spending as an attack on workers, while RN’s motion attacked the government’s “disorder” and immigration policies. Both failed, but the debates exposed the depth of national discontent and the impossibility of stable governance without genuine coalition-building.

Macron’s last loyalist

Mr. Macron’s choice of Mr. Lecornu reflected his preference of loyalty. A former Republican who joined Mr. Macron’s centrist movement in 2017, Mr. Lecornu cultivated a reputation for pragmatism and loyalty. As Minister of the Armed Forces, he managed France’s support for Ukraine and maintained defence readiness amid budgetary constraints.

Politically, Mr. Lecornu’s provincial roots and administrative experience were meant to counter Mr. Macron’s image as an out-of-touch Parisian.

However, critics see the appointment as another sign of Mr. Macron’s insularity. Mr. Lecornu’s brief resignation, followed by his reappointment, reinforced perceptions of dysfunction and indecision. His narrow survival in October underscores how little room for error remains.

Pressures on Macron

Meanwhile, pressures on Mr. Macron’s presidency mounts. Politically, he faces isolation. Some Opposition leaders are urging him to call snap elections or even step down, while key allies such as former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe have publicly distanced themselves from the Elysee. Leaders from RN’s Le Pen to LFI’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon demand systemic change and a “Sixth Republic” to curb presidential power.

Public sentiment is equally hostile. On social media, the phrase “Macron’s chaos” trends, encapsulating widespread frustration with the endless cycle of resignations, crises, and parliamentary deadlock. France’s once-proud self-image as a stable democracy now faces ridicule at home and abroad. Despite calls for his resignation and new elections, Mr. Macron has vowed to serve out his full term.

Speaking from Egypt on October 13 during a Gaza peace summit, Mr. Macron urged “stability over chaos,” accusing rivals of undermining Mr. Lecornu’s first cabinet.

Lecornu’s tightrope walk

For Mr. Lecornu, the path ahead is perilous. His pledge to suspend pension reform may soothe tempers temporarily but risks angering fiscal hawks and EU partners pressing for Budget consolidation. Meanwhile, the looming 2026 Budget negotiations will test his ability to build consensus among ideologically opposed blocs.

Mr. Lecornu’s background in defence and local governance could prove an asset in crisis management, yet legislative gridlock remains his Achilles’ heel. Any misstep could trigger new no-confidence votes or even early elections.

France’s near-term future hinges on whether Mr. Lecornu can navigate between fiscal discipline and social stability. The left demands wealth taxes and expanded social spending; the right insists on austerity and migration curbs. Neither side appears willing to compromise.

If Mr. Lecornu fails to pass the 2026 Budget, France could face automatic spending rollovers, EU fines, or even credit downgrades. Protests could reignite as living costs rise and unemployment persists. Meanwhile, Mr. Macron’s shrinking influence within the EU threatens France’s leadership role in Europe. Without renewed legitimacy, either through a functioning coalition or fresh elections, France risks sliding deeper into governability crisis.

Published – October 22, 2025 01:22 pm IST

President Emmanuel Macron called on French lawmakers to set aside their personal ambition and reject a vote that would topple the government and throw the country into political turmoil.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party have vowed to support a no-confidence motion on Wednesday submitted by a left-wing coalition, a motion that will pass if backed by both groups.

The National Rally became the largest single party in the lower house of parliament in a June snap election, transforming Le Pen into Paris’s most influential power broker. But Macron expressed confidence that politicians would step back from the brink.

“The only question that politicians today need to ask themselves is how they can be useful to the country and to the French people,” Macron told reporters on Tuesday during a trip to Saudi Arabia. “Not how they can be useful to their own ambitions or their own interests.”

The president said in Riyadh that for Le Pen’s party to support the no-confidence motion “would be a vote of unbearable cynicism,” adding that “I can’t believe that they’d vote for the” motion.

Lawmakers in Paris will begin debating the motions at 4 p.m. in Paris Wednesday, with the voting to start shortly thereafter. 

Prime Minister Michel Barnier also spoke of the potential that the no-confidence motion wouldn’t pass. 

“I think it’s possible there will be a reflex of responsibility,” Barnier said on French TV Tuesday. “I think that the country’s higher interest, the common good, the national interest, mean something.”

The political difficulties began after Macron called snap elections after getting trounced in European elections. That left the lower house split into three fiercely opposed blocs: a diminished center supporting the president, a leftist alliance and a strengthened far right led by Le Pen. With no coalition possible, Macron appointed Barnier prime minister in September with a core mission to get France’s messy finances in order.

Barnier used a constitutional mechanism on Monday to force through an unpopular budget bill, leading the National Rally and the leftist coalition to call for votes of no confidence. Le Pen moved forward with the motion even after Barnier submitted to nearly all of the National Rally’s demands to change the budget legislation. 

If the government were to collapse on Wednesday, it would underscore the power acquired by Le Pen since Macron called the surprise election in June. It would also mark the shortest tenure for a premier since France’s Fifth Republic was founded in 1958.

The political chaos has driven bond investors to punish France’s sovereign debt relative to its peers, pushing borrowing costs at one point last week to match Greece’s and leading Barnier to warn of a “storm” in financial markets if he is dismissed from power.

Investors have fretted for months over France’s political difficulties, just as the government has been trying to push measures that will reduce its unwieldy deficit. The budget bill initially presented by Barnier’s government contained €60 billion ($63.1 billion) of tax increases and spending cuts that aimed for a sharp adjustment in the deficit to 5% of economic output in 2025 from an estimated 6.1% this year.

A government collapse so close to the end of the year would take France into unchartered territory. The outgoing administration, acting in a caretaker capacity, could use emergency laws to collect taxes and guarantee a minimal level of spending, but the economic and financial impact is hard to predict. 

The current finance minister, Antoine Armand, warned earlier Tuesday that stopgap legislation would raise taxes for millions of households and block planned spending increases for some priorities, including security and farming.

What Happens If the Government Falls?

• Barnier would tender the resignation of the government
• His outgoing cabinet would remain in place with limited powers to manage current affairs
• The French president is solely responsible for appointing a new premier, but there is no constitutional time limit for his decision
• It took Macron nearly two months to select Barnier with no obvious candidate capable of commanding a majority in a hung parliament
• The caretaker government will likely rely on untested emergency legislation to collect taxes and deliver minimal spending it considers vital
• Once named, a new prime minister would have to propose a cabinet to be appointed by the president
• The new government would need to propose a 2025 budget to parliament
• A new legislative election is not possible until July

But Macron expressed confidence that politicians voting on Wednesday would step back from the brink. 

“The only question that politicians today need to ask themselves is how they can be useful to the country and to the French people,” Macron said in Riyadh. “Not how they can be useful to their own ambitions or their own interests.”

If the government is voted down, ministers remain in place with a caretaker status to manage current affairs, potentially including emergency legislation to avoid a shutdown. It would then be up to Macron to appoint a new prime minister, although there is no constitutional deadline for his decision. 

The president, meantime, said he wouldn’t resign until his full term had ended. While the left has called on Macron to step down, he can’t be forced out of his job. The next presidential election is set for 2027 and Le Pen remains the frontrunner, according to polls. 

“I’ve been elected twice by the French people, and I’m extremely proud of that,” Macron said. “I’ll honor that trust with all my energy, right up to the last second, to be useful to the country.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

French member of parliament and President of the far-right National Rally Marine Le Pen delivers a speech in the National Assembly in Paris. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Paris prosecutor on Wednesday (November 13, 2024) requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, at a trial where she and 24 others are accused of embezzling European Union funds.

The trial, which comes almost a decade after initial investigations started, threatens to undermine her party’s efforts to polish its image ahead of a 2027 presidential vote many believe she can win.

On Wednesday, the Paris prosecutor requested a €300,000 (₹2.67 crore) fine, five years in prison and an ineligibility sentence against Marine Le Pen, with provisional execution. If the court finds her guilty of the charges with this provisional execution, Ms. Le Pen will not be able to run in elections even if she appeals the judgment.

“I note that the prosecution is being extremely outrageous in its demands, particularly with the request for provisional execution, which it wants to impose on everyone being prosecuted,” Ms. Le Pen told reporters while leaving court.

ALSO READ: Rassemblement National: France’s rally towards the right

Ms. Le Pen, the RN party itself, and 24 others — party officials, employees, former lawmakers and parliamentary assistants — are all accused of using European Parliament money to pay staff in France who were working for their party, which at the time was called the National Front.

“I am not surprised by the prosecution’s request for provisional execution. There is a consistency in the prosecution’s demands,” Patrick Maisonneuve, the European Parliament’s lawyer, said.

The trial will last until November 27.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (September 2, 2024) intensified efforts to find a new prime minister after almost two months of deadlock following inconclusive legislative elections, hosting two former presidents and two potential candidates.

France has been without a permanent government since the July 7 polls, in which the left formed the largest faction in a hung parliament with Mr. Macron’s centrists and the far right comprising the other major groups.

Two possible candidates for prime minister – former premier Bernard Cazeneuve from the centre left and right-wing ex-minister Xavier Bertrand – held separate meetings with Mr. Macron.

It is traditional for the French president to consult predecessors during moments of national importance, and Mr. Macron also met Monday at the Elysee presidential palace with the two surviving former presidents – right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Francois Hollande.

An Elysee source, asking not to be named, did not rule out that a third candidate could emerge.

French daily Le Monde reported that 62-year-old Thierry Beaudet, head of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) advisory body and a figure utterly unknown to most French people, was also considered for the job.

“It’s a very serious option,” a person close to Mr. Macron said. “It’s a solid, new response to the need for dialogue in society.”

To the fury of the left, Mr. Macron has refused to accept the nomination of a left-wing premier, arguing such a figure would have no chance of surviving a confidence motion in parliament.

Amid the political deadlock Mr. Macron, who has less than three years of his term remaining, has run down the clock as the Olympics and Paralympics took place in Paris, to the growing frustration of opponents.

But amid signs of an acceleration as France returns from holidays, Mr. Macron early Monday hosted Cazeneuve, a former leading Socialist who headed the government in the final months of Hollande’s 2012-17 presidential term.

Mr. Cazeneuve was regarded by many commentators as the figure most likely to be named by Mr. Macron, but his appointment is far from a foregone conclusion.

Mr. Cazeneuve, 61, spent years as interior minister, including during the 2015 Paris attacks, and enjoys respect from across the political spectrum.

But the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party was unimpressed and vowed to seek to vote him out of office.

Centre of gravity

Mr. Macron also held talks with Xavier Bertrand, the right-wing head of the northern Hauts-de-France region and a former minister.

Mr. Bertrand, 59, would be a much more palatable figure for the right as premier.

Mr. Sarkozy remains an influential figure on the right – despite a string of graft convictions after leaving office on charges he denies – and even within Macron’s circle, has already made his preference clear.

“The centre of gravity of French politics is on the right”, he argued in the Figaro daily on Saturday.

He said Mr. Bertrand would be a “good choice”, while opposing Mr. Cazeneuve’s nomination.

For a president who came to office in 2017 vowing radical change as to how France is ruled, naming a former prime minister from a previous administration could be seen as a step backwards by Macron.

“Appointing Bernard Cazeneuve to the office of prime minister would implicitly acknowledge the fact that the ‘new world’ has failed,” Le Monde wrote in an editorial.

France’s left-wing New Popular Front alliance had demanded that the president pick their candidate Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist and civil servant with a history of left-wing activism.

On Monday, Castets indicated the left-wing coalition might be open to dialogue.

“The New Popular Front supports a change of policy, and therefore, it will support a candidate, a person who is in a position to change the policy,” she said.

Whoever is named will face the most delicate of tasks in seeking to agree legislation in a highly polarised National Assembly at a time of immense challenges.

An October 1 deadline is now looming for a new government to file a draft budget law for 2025 — something the caretaker administration under Gabriel Attal, in place since July, cannot oversee.

With debts piling up to 110 percent of annual output, France has this year suffered a credit rating cut from Standard and Poor’s and been told off by the European Commission for excessive deficits.

A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France’s snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second and the far right in third.
| Photo Credit: AP

French parties sought to project strength and gather allies on July 9, with the government adrift following an election in which no one political force claimed a clear majority.

Having defied expectations to top the polls, new MPs from the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance began showing up to visit their new workplaces in parliament ahead of a first session on July 18.

But the coalition of Greens, Socialists, Communists and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) is still debating over who to put forward as a potential Prime Minister and whether it could be open to working in a broader coalition.

Combined, the left-leaning parties hold 193 of 577 seats in the National Assembly and are well short of the 289-seat threshold for a majority.

Nevertheless, members plan to name a potential Prime Minister “by the end of the week,” leading LFI figure Mathilde Panot said.

In the French system, the President nominates the Prime Minister, who must be able to survive a confidence vote in parliament — a tricky proposition with three closely-balanced political forces in play.

Also Read | France President Emmanuel Macron bid to reshape political landscape leaves no clear path to form new government

Any left-leaning government would need “broader support in the National Assembly,” influential Socialist MP Boris Vallaud acknowledged in an interview with broadcaster France Inter.

Mr. Macron’s camp came second in Sunday’s vote, taking 164 seats after voters came together to block the far-right National Rally (RN) from power.

This left the anti-immigration, anti-Brussels outfit in third place with 143 MPs.

The President has kept Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s government in place for now, hoping horse-trading in the coming days and weeks could leave an opening for him to reclaim the initiative.

However, “there has been an institutional shift. Everyone thinks it’s up to the newly-elected National Assembly to bring forth a solution, which (Mr. Macron) would simply have to accept,” wrote commentator Guillaume Tabard in conservative daily Le Figaro.

‘None can govern alone’

In a sign that some divisions remain, the left parties’ MPs planned to enter the parliament at different times throughout the day.

The Socialists are still hoping to glean a few more members for their group to outweigh LFI and have a greater say over the alliance’s direction.

Meanwhile, members of Mr. Macron’s camp were eyeing both the centre-left Socialists and conservative Republicans as possible allies of convenience for a new centrist-dominated coalition.

“None of the three leading blocs can govern alone,” Stephane Sejourne, head of Mr. Macron’s Renaissance party, wrote in daily Le Monde.

“The centrist bloc is ready to talk to all the members of the republican spectrum,” he added — while naming red lines including that coalition members must support the EU and Ukraine and maintain business-friendly policies.

These requirements, he warned, “necessarily exclude LFI” and its caustic founder Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Markets are paying close attention to the EU’s second-largest economy.

Ratings agency Moody’s warned it could downgrade its credit score for France’s more than three-trillion-euro debt pile if a future government reverses Mr. Macron’s widely-loathed 2023 pension reform, echoing a Monday warning from S&P on the deficit.

What next?

Even as politicians struggle to define the immediate path ahead, eyes are also already turning to the next time French voters will be called to the polls.

Macron’s term expires in 2027 and he cannot run a third time — potentially leaving the way open for his twice-defeated opponent, RN figurehead Marine Le Pen, to finally capture the presidency.

The far-right outfit has been digesting a disappointing result after polls suggested it could take an absolute majority in parliament.

On Tuesday, party sources told AFP its director-general Gilles Penelle had resigned.

Penelle, elected last month to the European Parliament, was the architect of a “push-button” plan supposed to prepare the RN for snap elections, which ultimately failed to produce a full roster of credible candidates.

The far right outfit’s progress is undeniable, having advanced from just eight MPs soon after Mr. Macron’s first presidential win in 2017 to 143 today.

OPINION | ​Resurgent left: On the French elections, European politics

Greens and LFI leaders nevertheless called Tuesday for the RN to be shut out of key parliamentary posts.

“Every time we give them jobs, we increase their competence. It’s important not to give them jobs with responsibilities,” leading LFI lawmaker Mathilde Panot said.

“Today we represent 10 million French people with 143 MPs,” retorted RN representative Thomas Menage, calling the appeal “anti-democratic”.

As for Mr. Macron, he has sought to stay above the fray, planning for a trip to Washington for a NATO summit starting on Wednesday where allies may be in need of reassurance of France’s stability.

A campaigner pastes an election poster of French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) candidate Sandrine Chadournec (C) in Libourne, southwestern France on July 2, 2024, as part of the French legislative elections.
| Photo Credit: AFP

At least 200 candidates have stood down ahead of France’s runoff election as President Emmanuel Macron and a left-wing coalition seek to block the far right, an AFP tally showed on Tuesday.

On Sunday, France votes in the decisive final round of the snap legislative polls Mr. Macron called after his camp received a drubbing in European elections last month.

The rivals are hoping that tactical withdrawals to unify the vote ahead of the runoff will prevent the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen winning an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.

Ahead of Tuesday’s 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) deadline for registration for the second round, at least 200 candidates had already dropped out, nearly all of them left-wing or members of Mr. Macron’s centrist camp, according to AFP.

Of the candidates who have decided to quit the race more than 110 are members of the left-wing New Popular Front and more than 70 represent Mr. Macron’s camp.

A far-right candidate also stood down over an old social media post of herself in a Nazi cap, a party official told local media.

The far-right party scored a victory in the June 30 first round with more than 10.6 million votes.

Just 76 lawmakers, almost all from the far right and left were elected outright in the first round.

The fate of the remaining 501 seats will be determined in the second round in run-offs between two or three remaining candidates.