Emmanuel Macron’s political isolation deepens as some call for his resignation

Then French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu, right, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron talk at the end of an address by the president to army leaders in Paris (Ludovic Marin via AP)

Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron has suffered a fresh blow 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.

Edouard Philippe was Mr 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 Mr Macron’s second term.

Mr Attal then made his displeasure known with Mr Macron’s stunning decision in June 2024 to dissolve parliament’s powerful lower house — the root of the current crisis.

French outgoing prime minister Sebastien Lecornu, who resigned just a day after naming his government, walks back after delivering his statement at the Hotel Matignon in Paris (Stephane Mahe/AP)

Their separate decisions to now draw a line between themselves and Mr 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 Mr Macron who have brought down his minority governments one after another.

Mr Attal, speaking on Monday night to broadcaster TF1, struck the first blow, saying: “Like many French people, I no longer understand the president’s decisions.”

Mr Philippe then piled on more pressure Tuesday, saying that Mr Macron should call early presidential elections and step down after the National Assembly adopts a 2026 budget.

Mr Macron has previously said that he will see out his second and last presidential term to its end in 2027.

Mr Philippe said Mr 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 Sebastien Lecornu — Mr Macron’s fourth prime minister since the dissolution, after Mr Attal, Michel Barnier and Francois Bayrou.

Bruno Retailleau, head of the Conservative Party Les Republicains and outgoing interior minister, leaves after a meeting at the party headquarters (Thibault Camus/AP)

After accepting Mr Lecornu’s resignation, Mr 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.

Mr Lecornu met on 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 Mr Macron’s prime ministers before shattering when Mr 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

Mr 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.

French far right leader Marine Le Pen talks to the media following a meeting at the National Rally party headquarters (Christophe Ena/AP)

The alliance, however, quickly fell apart and both the socialists and the communists are now at odds with Jean-Luc Melenchon’s far-left party, France Unbowed.

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.”