The catastrophic failure of Sebastien Lecornu’s appointment is forcing a stark question in French politics: is this the beginning of the end for Emmanuel Macron’s presidency? The event feels less like a temporary setback and more like a decisive turning point, signaling the start of his political endgame.
A president’s power relies on their ability to set the agenda and command a functioning government. The Lecornu episode has proven that Macron can no longer do this. His government was not just defeated; it was nullified on creation. This level of failure suggests a presidency that has entered a terminal phase of decline.
The loss of three prime ministers to parliamentary opposition is not a sign of a healthy, functioning executive. It is a sign of a president who has lost control of the political game. He is now constantly reacting to his opponents’ moves rather than making his own, a sure sign that his endgame has begun.
The economic crisis, with its record public debt, provides the grim backdrop to this political decay. A president who cannot govern is a president who cannot solve the country’s most pressing problems. This failure will likely define the remainder of his term and shape his legacy.
While Macron’s term is not officially over, his effective presidency may be. The Lecornu fiasco may be remembered as the moment Macron’s political project was checkmated, leaving him to play out the final, powerless moves of his time in office.