Overview

• Lecornu resigned hours after unveiling a cabinet that retained most ministers and named Bruno Le Maire to defense, drawing a threat from Républicains leader and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to pull his party out.
• Le Maire announced he will renounce the defense post and Macron accepted, leaving ministers in a caretaker role without the power to initiate new legislation.
• Macron accepted the resignation but tasked Lecornu with conducting final negotiations and reporting whether a governing basis is possible by Wednesday.
• Opposition parties across the spectrum demanded snap elections, and figures on left and right escalated calls for Macron’s resignation or removal.
• Markets signaled concern as the CAC 40 fell around 1–2% and French borrowing costs rose, with the contested savings budget and roughly €3.3 trillion in debt unresolved in a parliament where Macron’s camp and the Républicains hold about 210 seats, short of the 289 needed for a majority.