President of center-right Horizons party Edouard Philippe at the prime minister's residence in Paris, on September 2, 2025. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
Edouard Philippe, a longtime ally of French President Emmanuel Macron who served as his first prime minister, called for an early presidential election on Tuesday, October 7, 18 months ahead of the next scheduled one.
Speaking to RTL radio, Philippe slammed what he called a "distressing political game," as France's outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was on Tuesday due to start a last-ditch effort to pull his country out of political deadlock. Philippe urged Macron to call an early presidential election as soon as the 2026 budget was approved.
Philippe, a former member of the conservative Les Républicains party, served as the first prime minister in Macron's first term, between 2017 and 2020. He then founded his own party, Horizons, which has been in Macron's governing coalition ever since. Philippe is also the mayor of Le Havre, Normandy.
Macron tasked Lecornu, 39, with forming a government in early September after Parliament toppled his predecessor over an unpopular austerity budget. Lecornu unveiled a new cabinet on Sunday evening, but it immediately drew criticism for containing many of the same faces from the previous government, and Lecornu resigned on Monday morning. But in a twist, Lecornu had by Monday evening accepted Macron's request that he spend two days trying to salvage his administration.
