Macron to Name New Prime Minister Within 48 Hours as France’s Political Crisis Deepens

French President Emmanuel Macron is racing against the clock to pull his government out of free fall, promising to name a new prime minister within 48 hours, after the spectacular collapse of Sébastien Lecornu’s ultra-short-lived government.

The Elysée Palace made the announcement Wednesday night, saying Lecornu’s talks with party leaders had found “a platform for stability” that could allow a budget to be passed by year’s end, a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise chaotic political storm.

“On this basis, the President of the Republic will appoint a Prime Minister within the next 48 hours,” the Elysée said in a statement, thanking Lecornu for his “work since Monday to resolve the crisis.”

That’s diplomatic speak for: France has been through the wringer this week.

Lecornu, the fifth prime minister in less than two years, resigned just 14 hours after presenting his new cabinet on Sunday, making his tenure the shortest in modern French history. The backlash was instant: both the left and right slammed his lineup for recycling the same faces from the unpopular Bayrou government.

Still, Lecornu hung around for a couple more days at Macron’s request to test the waters for a fresh cabinet, or, as critics put it, to buy the president time.

Speaking to French TV earlier Wednesday, Lecornu sounded exhausted but defiant:

“I tried everything,” he said of his failed effort to unite the fractured parliament. “This evening, my mission is finished.”

He said a more technocratic government might follow, one less focused on politics and more on survival, adding that any new cabinet members should not be eyeing the 2027 presidential race.

“Let’s not make the French believe that it’s the president who votes the budget,” he added, trying to redirect blame toward parliament.

The crisis has been building for months. Macron dissolved parliament last year after far-right gains in snap elections, only to end up with a hung National Assembly and no majority to pass the budget.

Since then, his austerity plan has triggered mass protests, the far right has been surging in the polls, and even his former ally Édouard Philippe is now calling for presidential elections to “reset the system.”

Opposition parties smell blood, blocking any new cabinet proposal and daring Macron to call early elections or resign outright.

For now, the president is betting he can still control the chaos by naming a new prime minister, someone technocratic, steady, and willing to play the thankless role of firefighter-in-chief.