The brief, unhappy story of the latest French government, whose only achievement was to set a record for the brevity of its tenure, amounts to the chronicle of a disaster foretold.
Sébastien Lecornu, who quit on Monday after 28 days as prime minister, had promised a “rupture” from the policies of a series of short-lived governments, but was himself the embodiment of continuity and of the stubborn persistence of President Emmanuel Macron in sticking with his center-right inner circle.
That can work when the president controls the Parliament. Mr. Macron does not. The National Assembly, or lower house, is split three ways among the nationalist far right of Marine Le Pen, the left and far left most vociferously represented by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and an enfeebled center with a fading loyalty to a term-limited Mr. Macron.
The result has been five governments in the past 21 months and chaos. The stable Italy of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is gloating.
When, after weeks of consultation, Mr. Lecornu revealed his new cabinet on Sunday evening, it amounted to a clumsy rehash of the old. The inclusion of Bruno Le Maire, the former minister of finance widely blamed for the rise in French debt to $4 trillion during his seven-year tenure, amounted to a provocation. The government, stillborn, lasted 836 minutes.
What now? Mr. Macron announced Monday evening that he had asked Mr. Lecornu to stay on in a caretaker capacity for 48 hours to see if he could find “a platform of action and stability for the country.” Mr. Lecornu accepted, saying he would inform the president if this was possible or not by then.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post As France Faces Political Turmoil, Macron Is Backed Into a Corner appeared first on New York Times.
