Reactions to the resignation of France’s one-day old government

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(Reuters) -French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tendered the resignation of his government on Monday, less than a day after naming his cabinet, after his ministerial picks provoked consternation amongst ruling alliance allies and opponents whose support is needed to pass a budget for 2026.

Here are some reactions to Lecornu’s resignation:

FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY PARTY

“(President Emmanuel) Macron now has to choose: dissolve parliament or resign, and quickly!”

AGNES PANNIER-RUNACHER, OUTGOING ENVIRONMENT MINISTER

“I despair of this circus where everyone plays their part, but no one takes responsibility,” Pannier-Runacher wrote on X.

“To those who still think that we could govern without the Left, I say: you are mistaken. We can’t move forward without sending out strong signals, without reaching out to those who, despite our differences, share the same ambition: to serve France and the French people.”

JORDAN BARDELLA, PRESIDENT OF THE FAR-RIGHT NATIONALIST NATIONAL RALLY PARTY

“There is no doubt that the ephemeral Prime Minister had no room to manoeuvre, and it was certainly Emmanuel Macron himself who formed his government (…) there can be no stability without a return to the polls and a dissolution of the national assembly,” Bardella told BFM TV.

JEAN-LUC MELENCHON OF THE FAR-LEFT FRANCE UNBOWED PARTY

“Following the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu, we call for the immediate consideration of the motion tabled by 104 MPs for the impeachment of Emmanuel Macron,” Melenchon wrote on X.

FORMER IMF CHIEF ECONOMIST OLIVIER BLANCHARD

“Hard to understand what was in Macron/Lecornu’s minds in presenting more or less the same government, with one largely unpopular addition. But equally striking is the degree to which the discussion is about people, and not about issues,” Blanchard said in a post on X.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Alban Kacher, editing by Richard Lough)