President Emmanuel Macron’s apparent curse when it comes to appointing prime ministers has struck again, with Sebastien Lecornu becoming the third consecutive head of government to be forced from office. The “third time unlucky” scenario confirms a pattern of failure that points directly to the challenges of Macron’s presidency.
The first two victims of this curse were Francois Bayrou and Michel Barnier. Both were experienced politicians appointed by Macron, and both were ultimately ousted by the National Assembly in intractable disputes over the national budget. Their departures established a clear pattern of executive-legislative conflict.
Macron hoped to break this curse with Lecornu, a close ally he presumably thought could navigate the parliamentary minefield. However, the curse proved too powerful. Lecornu was brought down even more swiftly than his predecessors, not by a protracted budget battle, but by the instant rejection of his cabinet.
This recurring failure is not a matter of luck or curses, but a reflection of a fundamental political reality: Macron’s inability to command a stable majority in parliament. Without it, any Prime Minister he appoints is inherently vulnerable, tasked with an almost impossible mission. They are set up to fail by the political arithmetic of a divided nation.
As Macron prepares to choose a fourth Prime Minister, the question is whether anyone can break this cycle. The curse will likely continue until the underlying issue of the hung parliament and the deep political divisions over the country’s economic future are addressed—a solution that seems further away than ever.