Philippe has already announced his intention to run in the next presidential election, and polling shows he could make the runoff and face whichever candidate from the far-right National Rally stands in the contest.
If Macron were to resign immediately, a new presidential election would have to be held within 20 to 35 days. His term is currently scheduled to end in the first half of 2027.
According to one centrist politician, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, Philippe was under growing pressure from within his own party, Horizons, which he founded in 2021 and has worked with Macron. Several allies were urging Philippe to seize the moment to clearly distance himself from Macron.
Philippe’s remarks are the latest indication that Macron’s allies from the political center are abandoning ship after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his two immediate predecessors, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, all lost their jobs trying to get a hung parliament to agree to billions in spending cuts needed to balance France’s books.
Another of Macron’s former prime ministers, Gabriel Attal — who now serves as the head of the president’s political party — said he “no longer understands” the president’s decisions and accused him of “wanting to hold onto power” despite having lost the snap elections he himself called last year.
After accepting Lecornu’s resignation, Macron then asked him anyway to continue negotiations with other political forces until Wednesday in the hope of reaching a governing agreement.
A survey by respected pollster Elabe released Monday showed that 51 percent of respondents believe Macron’s resignation would help ease the political situation in France, while 26 percent said it would make things worse and 23 percent expressed no opinion.
Anthony Lattier contributed to this report.