PARIS (AP) — Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a fresh blow Tuesday with two of his former prime ministers sharply distancing themselves from him as he faced growing pressure to resign after the collapse of his latest government.
Édouard Philippe was Macron’s first prime minister after he swept to power in 2017, and Gabriel Attal had previously been one of the French president’s most loyal lieutenants, appointed prime minister in January 2024, during Macron’s second term. Attal then made his displeasure known with Macron’s stunning decision in June 2024 to dissolve parliament’s powerful lower house — the root of the current crisis.
Their separate decisions to now draw a line between themselves and Macron illustrated how the president’s authority is being sapped by his inability to deliver stable governance.
Political turmoil has gripped France for more than a year, flowing from the National Assembly dissolution that triggered fresh elections. The result was a Parliament stacked with opponents of Macron who have brought down his minority governments one after another.
Attal, speaking Monday night to broadcaster TF1, struck the first blow, saying: “Like many French people, I no longer understand the president’s decisions.”
Philippe then piled on more pressure Tuesday, saying that Macron should call early presidential elections and step down after the National Assembly adopts a 2026 budget. Macron has previously said that he’ll see out his second and last presidential term to its end in 2027.
Philippe said Macron “should say we cannot let what we have been experiencing for the past six months drag on. Another 18 months would be far too long and would harm France.”
Lecornu’s uphill mission
The latest crisis erupted with the abrupt resignation on Monday of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu — Macron’s fourth prime minister since the dissolution, after Attal, Michel Barnier and Francois Bayrou.
After accepting Lecornu’s resignation, Macron then gave his 39-year-old ally another 48 hours to hold more “final negotiations” in the interest of national stability, an apparent last-ditch effort to find some sort of exit to the latest impasse and buy the French leader some time to decide on his next step.
Lecornu met Tuesday with officials from the so-called Socle Commun — or “common platform” — a coalition of conservatives and centrists who had provided a base of support, albeit shaky, for Macron’s prime ministers before shattering when Lecornu named a new Cabinet on Sunday night.
The new government then collapsed less than 14 hours later, when conservative heavyweight Bruno Retailleau withdrew his support.
The left wants to govern, the far right calls for new elections
Macron, now at record-low approval ratings, has not indicated his next move. His rivals have suggested three options: resign, call new elections, or appoint a prime minister from outside his political camp.
The third option, known as “cohabitation,” has been championed by left-wing parties. A leftist coalition, the New Popular Front, won the most seats in the 2024 French legislative election, beating back a far-right surge but failing to win a majority.
The alliance, however, quickly fell apart and both the socialists and the communists are now at odds with Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left party, France Unbowed.
“It is the choice of cohabitation — being called to take responsibility and finally being able to truly change the lives of the French — which we prefer,” Green party leader Marine Tondelier told the France Televisions network.
On the other side, the far right is calling for snap elections. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, currently leading by far in the polls, believes new legislative elections could work in its favor.
“I call on the president of the Republic to hear the suffering in the country, to come out of his isolation, and to dissolve the National Assembly,” National Rally president Jordan Bardella said. “We must go back to the French people so they can choose a majority for themselves. We are ready to take responsibility.”
Meanwhile, many French people sound disenchanted.
“The impression is that the Fifth Republic is on life support, on a respirator, on morphine, and maybe we should think about changing all that a bit,” Guillaume Glade, a 36-year-old worker, told The Associated Press. “There are cracks on all sides, and we can feel it.”
___
Associated Press journalist Alex Turnbull in Paris contributed to this story. Petrequin reported from London
