Paris, 6 October 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Former French economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire has withdrawn from his planned appointment as defence minister in an effort to help resolve France's deepening political crisis after French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned nearly four weeks after being appointed.

Lecornu submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who is now potentially forced to search for another new prime minister for the third time in a year.

The prime minister had unveiled the allocation of key ministries in his government Sunday evening, but the leader of the Republicains party, Bruno Retailleau, had expressed his dissatisfaction with the role of his conservatives in the new Cabinet and called a crisis meeting for Monday.

There was speculation about a possible withdrawal of the conservatives from the coalition with Macron's centrist camp, which lacks a parliamentary majority.

Retailleau had previously demanded a third of the ministerial posts for his party.

Conservatives were also reportedly outraged that long-serving economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire, who left office in 2024 and belongs to Macron's centrist party, was unexpectedly appointed defence minister.

Criticism of the parties from Lecornu

Following his resignation, Lecornu accused the parties in the divided French parliament of politically blocking the country. "The political parties continue to adopt an attitude as if they all had an absolute majority in the National Assembly," Lecornu said.

"And basically, I found myself in a situation where I was ready to compromise, but each political party wants the other political party to adopt its entire program," Lecornu said in a statement outside the seat of government.

He also complained of a tussle between the parties for posts.

Lecornu, who comes from the president's camp, had been scheduled to make a government statement to the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, and reveal the remaining Cabinet positions Tuesday.

Budget crisis in France

The resignation means that this latest attempt at forming a stable government has failed, extending France's political crisis and putting Macron under enormous pressure.

The opposition promptly called for new elections and urged Macron to resign. "We have reached the end of the road," the leader of France's right-wing nationalists, Marine Le Pen, said. "The French are fed up with this situation." She said that fresh elections are the only way forward.

Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon agreed. "We are at an impasse. As long as we hesitate to tackle the core problem, everything will only get worse," he asserted.

President Macron, whose office is independent of the government, had previously categorically ruled out resigning before the end of his term of office in spring 2027. He did not initially comment publicly on the predicament created by Lecornu's resignation.

Former prime minister François Bayrou lost a parliamentary confidence vote on Sept. 8 over a planned austerity budget, leading him to step down as head of the minority government. Macron then appointed Lecornu on Sept. 9.

France currently holds the highest debt in the European Union, at around €3.3 trillion ($3.9 trillion).

Le Maire withdraws from defence post to ease French political crisis

Le Maire said Monday that he had offered President Emmanuel Macron his immediate resignation and that the president had accepted.

"I hope that this decision will allow discussions to resume with a view to forming a new government, which France needs," he wrote on X.

The announcement followed the surprise resignation earlier in the day of Lecornu, who quit after the conservative Républicains party threatened to withdraw from the governing coalition.

Party leader Bruno Retailleau reacted angrily to Le Maire's planned appointment, saying it fell short of the change he had been promised and expressing frustration over the limited influence conservatives had been given in the new government.

According to media reports, Retailleau also accused Lecornu of failing to inform him in advance about Le Maire’s nomination.

Criticism over soaring national debt

Le Maire served as economy and finance minister from 2017 to 2024, steering France at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis with policies aimed at shielding businesses and households from severe hardship.

However, during his tenure, France’s public debt rose by €1 trillion ($1.1 trillion), a fact that drew heavy criticism — including from within the conservative ranks — over his new appointment to the senior post of defence minister.

Uncertain path forward for Macron

It remains unclear whether Le Maire’s withdrawal will ease the crisis. President Macron met the outgoing Prime Minister Lecornu again at the Élysée Palace on Monday afternoon, though no details of their talks were made public.

French media speculated that Macron may be seeking to persuade Lecornu, one of the president's closest allies, to stay in office to stabilize the government.