The Ripple Effect: Lecornu’s Fall Sends Tremors Across Europe

The fall of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is not just a domestic French issue; it is sending ripples of concern across Europe. The political paralysis in one of the EU’s core member states and second-largest economy is a source of significant instability for the entire bloc.
European partners, particularly in Berlin and Brussels, look to Paris for leadership on key issues, from economic policy to security. A France that is mired in a perpetual governmental crisis is a France that cannot be an effective partner. The political chaos weakens the Franco-German engine that has traditionally driven the EU forward.
The economic dimension is particularly worrying. France’s record public debt and high debt-to-GDP ratio are a systemic risk for the Eurozone. The fact that three successive prime ministers have now been ousted amid conflicts over spending plans signals that Paris is politically incapable of getting its fiscal house in order. This raises alarms in the European Central Bank and among other member states.
The spectacle of such extreme political instability in a major Western democracy also provides ammunition for anti-EU and anti-democratic forces elsewhere. It feeds a narrative of liberal democracy in decay, a story that leaders in Moscow and Beijing are happy to amplify.
Lecornu’s resignation, therefore, has consequences far beyond France’s borders. It is a tremor that weakens the political and economic foundations of the European Union, at a time when the continent is already facing immense geopolitical and economic challenges.