Dead on Arrival: The Short, Tragic Life of Lecornu’s Government

The French government led by Sebastien Lecornu was tragically dead on arrival, its existence extinguished by a political backlash so swift and severe that it never had a chance to live. The story of this short-lived administration is a stark tale of the brutal realities of modern French politics.
From its conception, the government was troubled. Appointed by President Macron into a hostile political environment, Lecornu spent weeks trying to build a viable cabinet. The team he announced on Sunday was intended to be the start of a new chapter, but it was immediately diagnosed with a fatal condition: a profound lack of political legitimacy.
The reaction from the opposition was like an immune system rejecting a foreign implant. They immediately attacked the “largely unchanged” cabinet, isolating it and cutting off any chance of political survival. The government was declared illegitimate, a verdict that was quickly accepted as fact across the political spectrum.
Within hours, the government’s life support was effectively switched off. Facing certain political death in the National Assembly and universal condemnation, Prime Minister Lecornu had no choice but to concede defeat. His resignation on Monday was the official pronouncement of a death that had occurred politically the day before.
The tragic, brief life of this government serves as a cautionary tale. It reveals a political climate in France that is lethal to any new initiative from the current administration. It also leaves the country in a state of mourning for political stability, grappling with a power vacuum as its deep-seated economic and social problems continue to worsen.