His decision was taken at the end of a rollercoaster day during which the French president himself made no public remarks, but was spotted pacing alone along the banks of the Seine, cutting a solitary figure and apparently weighing up the future of France.
Ultimately, the outcome of his deliberations was underwhelming and appears doomed from the start, as opposition parties piled on the French president and his latest move.
“Let’s move on. They are just trying to buy time, it’s ridiculous, it’s melodrama. Let’s stop this,” said Green lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau.
“Trust is broken,” said Agnès Evren, a senator and spokesperson for the conservative Les Républicains, a party that had been part of Lecornu’s government.
Never before has the French president appeared so isolated and so embattled, with no good card to play. And rarely have the stakes been so high for France’s economy —and the European Union’s. Without billions of euros of budget cuts that France’s politicians seem unable to make, there is a risk international markets will twist their knives into the EU’s No. 2 economy.
No good options
If the French president is trying a last-ditch attempt to salvage Lecornu’s government, it’s precisely because he has run out of other options. Should the outgoing prime minister fail to reach a deal by Wednesday, Macron “will face up to his responsibilities,” according to close advisers quoted in French media — which may mean he will call snap elections.