Lecornu, Bayrou, Barnier: how the resignation of three French prime ministers signals a profound crisis in democracy

By Rémi Lefebvre, Professeur de science politique université Lille 2, Université de Lille

France has been experiencing an unprecedented political crisis since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament in June 2024. For political scientist Rémi Lefebvre, this deadlock is not only institutional: it reveals a crisis of representative governance fuelled by mistrust, social fragmentation and the erosion of majority rule.

Following the dissolution and the legislative elections that followed it, the governments of prime ministers Michel Barnier, François Bayrou and Sébastien Lecornu have all been unable to govern. Many commentators have suggested that this…

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