France’s new prime minister resigned on Monday after less than a month in office, sinking the country further into a political crisis and dealing a fresh blow to President Emmanuel Macron.
“Mr Sebastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his government to the president of the republic (Macron), which he accepted,” the French presidency said in a terse statement.
Lecornu’s stint in office was the shortest ever for a prime minister in modern France.
His resignation compounds a political crisis that has rocked France for over a year, after Macron called legislative elections in the summer of 2024 which ended in a hung parliament.
The shock move appears to have been forced by the reaction of the right-wing Republicans (LR) to Lecornu’s cabinet announced late Sunday, which led the party to consider its future in the government.
The Paris stock market slipped after the announcement, with the CAC 40 index of blue-chip stocks was down more than two percent at around 0800 GMT.
It was not immediately clear how Macron would proceed. Up to now, he has resisted calls to again order new snap legislative polls and has also ruled out resigning himself before his mandate ends in 2027.
The 2027 presidential elections are expected to be a historic crossroads in French politics, with the French far-right under Marine Le Pen sensing its best ever chance of taking power.
“In the coming weeks there will be new (legislative) polls,” predicted the leader of Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella. “The RN will obviously be ready to govern,” he added.
– No ‘last lap’ –
Macron named Lecornu, a former defence minister and close confidant known for his discretion and loyalty, to the post on September 9.
But the largely unchanged cabinet he unveiled late on Sunday sparked fierce criticism across the political spectrum.
The Republicans were not going to offer Macron and his allies “a final lap” after the largely unchanged cabinet, the right-wing party’s vice-president Francois-Xavier Bellamy said.
The lineup included former long-serving finance minister Bruno Le Maire as defence minister.
Lecornu had faced the daunting task of finding approval in a deeply divided parliament for an austerity budget for next year.
Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors, Francois Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the legislative chamber in a standoff over the spending plan.
France’s public debt has reached a record high, official data showed last week.
France’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now the European Union’s third-highest after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the 60 percent permitted under EU rules.
Previous governments had rammed the last three annual budgets through parliament without a vote, a method allowed by the constitution but deeply criticised by the opposition.
But Lecornu promised last week to ensure lawmakers were able to vote on the bill.
US Allows Iran’s Core UN Delegation, Denies Visas to Some Officials
The United States has refused to issue visas to some members of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s delegation, including members of his communications team, ahead of his planned appearance at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Iranian state media reported the visa refusals on Monday, September 21, 2026, while confirming that the United States has authorised the core Iranian delegation to travel to New York for the high-level UN gathering.
Pezeshkian is expected to address the 81st UN General Assembly on Wednesday, making his planned visit the highest-level Iranian presence in the United States since the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US escalated earlier this year.
Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that the Trump administration had denied visas to certain members of Pezeshkian’s high-level delegation, including personnel responsible for communications.
The Mehr news agency also reported the visa denials, citing a spokesperson for the Iranian presidency.
The decision does not amount to a blanket refusal of entry to the Iranian delegation. The United States has authorised the core delegation, which includes President Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to attend the UN General Assembly.
The distinction is significant because the annual UN gathering brings together representatives of member states at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, which is hosted by the United States.
The current arrangement follows restrictions imposed by Washington on the Iranian delegation during last year’s General Assembly. UN records show that Iran previously raised concerns over visa delays and denials affecting members of its delegation and argued that such restrictions hindered its participation in UN activities.
For this year’s meeting, Washington has also imposed restrictions on the movement and activities of the Iranian delegation while it is in the United States.
The State Department has said the delegation will face restrictions on its movements and on the purchase of certain luxury goods and other items. The measures come amid the absence of normal diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States and the continuing conflict between the two countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Iran on Sunday for the United States, travelling through Qatar.
The Iranian government has also used Qatar as an intermediary in communicating with Washington over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil and gas shipments.
Tehran has conveyed conditions for reopening the waterway, according to Iranian officials, while the United States has imposed measures against Iranian ports.
The Strait of Hormuz has become a major issue in the wider conflict because of its importance to international energy supplies.
Pezeshkian’s expected appearance at the UN General Assembly comes at a particularly sensitive moment in relations between Tehran and Washington.
The conflict has also become a major issue for this year’s UN gathering, with world leaders expected to discuss the Middle East, the war involving Iran, the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in Gaza and other international crises.
The Iranian president’s presence in New York could provide an opportunity for diplomatic contacts on the sidelines of the General Assembly, although the two governments remain sharply divided over the conflict and other issues.
US President Donald Trump is also attending the UN General Assembly this week and is expected to address the gathering.
Trump has indicated that he remains open to discussions involving Iran, while Tehran has continued to communicate through intermediaries.
The visa dispute therefore adds another layer to already strained US-Iran relations, but it has not prevented Iran’s president and foreign minister from attending the UN meeting.
For now, Pezeshkian’s scheduled appearance means Iran will have senior-level representation at the 81st UN General Assembly, despite Washington’s refusal to issue visas to some members of his wider delegation.
The immediate focus will be on Pezeshkian’s address, Iran’s position on the ongoing conflict and whether the UN gathering creates opportunities for further diplomatic engagement between Tehran and Washington.
US Allows Iran’s Core UN Delegation, Denies Visas to Some Officials
CNN, MS NOW, Politico Sue Trump Over White House Access Ban
CNN, MS NOW and Politico have filed a federal lawsuit against the administration of US President Donald Trump, challenging the decision to revoke their journalists’ access to the White House.
The three major news organisations are asking a federal court in Washington, DC, to intervene after the Trump administration barred their reporters from the White House grounds and deactivated or confiscated their press credentials.
The organisations argue that the administration’s action violated their First Amendment press rights and the Fifth Amendment’s due process protections, alleging that their access was withdrawn because of dissatisfaction with their reporting.
The case was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, with the media organisations seeking expedited consideration of their challenge and an order restoring their access to the White House.
The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung and Secret Service Director Sean Curran as defendants.
The legal action followed Trump’s decision to exclude the three organisations from the White House after he accused them of publishing what he described as “fake news” about his administration.
Trump has argued that journalists remain free to report on him but that the administration is not required to provide White House access to every news organisation.
The president also defended the decision on social media, where he characterised the affected outlets as a threat to national security. The reports on the lawsuit did not indicate that the administration had presented evidence publicly establishing such a threat.
The dispute escalated on Saturday, September 19, when reporters working for CNN, MS NOW and Politico were turned away from the White House complex.
Their press access was reportedly deactivated or their credentials confiscated, preventing them from covering activities inside the presidential complex in the usual manner.
The organisations subsequently warned that the White House decision raised broader questions about whether a presidential administration could deny access to journalists because of disagreement with their reporting.
In their court challenge, the outlets are expected to argue that the government cannot use access to public officials and government facilities as a means of punishing or influencing the content of news coverage.
The case comes as the Trump administration has significantly changed the way White House press access is managed.
The administration has increasingly exercised greater control over which journalists attend certain presidential events, while also expanding access for reporters from organisations it considers more favourable or less represented in traditional White House press coverage.
The latest dispute, however, concerns the removal of access from three established national news organisations at the same time.
Other media organisations and press-freedom groups have also expressed concern over the decision, arguing that government officials should not determine access based on whether they approve of particular news coverage.
The White House, on the other hand, has maintained that the administration has authority to determine access to the White House and has repeatedly accused some mainstream news organisations of inaccurate or unfair reporting.
The legal battle also has implications beyond the three organisations involved because federal courts have previously considered disputes between the executive branch and news organisations over access to the president.
One prominent case involved CNN reporter Jim Acosta during Trump’s first administration.
In 2018, the White House revoked Acosta’s press credentials following a confrontation during a presidential news conference. CNN challenged the decision in court, and a federal judge ordered the temporary restoration of his access.
The Trump administration has also been involved in a more recent dispute with the Associated Press.
The administration restricted AP’s access after the news agency declined to adopt Trump’s preferred terminology for the Gulf of Mexico. A federal judge later ordered the administration to restore the AP’s access in certain circumstances, although subsequent litigation resulted in distinctions between generally accessible areas and more restricted presidential events.
The current lawsuit involving CNN, MS NOW and Politico raises related but distinct questions about the government’s authority to control press access.
A central issue is expected to be whether the administration can exclude news organisations from access that is otherwise made available to members of the White House press corps because of disagreement with their reporting.
Another issue is the extent to which the First Amendment limits government decisions affecting journalists’ access, particularly when the alleged reason for exclusion is connected to the content or viewpoint of their reporting.
The media organisations are also challenging the process used to revoke their access, arguing that they were not given adequate notice or an opportunity to contest the decision before their credentials were withdrawn.
The case has already affected White House media arrangements beyond routine presidential coverage.
CNN had been scheduled to provide the television pool feed for Trump’s Monday trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, but the assignment was removed from the White House press schedule following the access dispute.
The White House press pool is important because participating organisations provide shared coverage, photographs, video and other material that can be used by news organisations that cannot send their own journalists to every presidential event.
The lawsuit therefore places questions of press freedom, government transparency and presidential control over media access at the centre of another federal court dispute involving the Trump administration.
For the three organisations, the immediate objective is restoration of access to the White House and the ability of their journalists to resume reporting from the presidential complex.
For the administration, the dispute involves its stated authority to determine who receives access to the White House and how that access is organised.
The court’s handling of the case could provide further guidance on the constitutional limits surrounding White House press credentials, particularly where access decisions are alleged to be connected to the content of journalists’ reporting.
Until the court rules, the competing claims remain disputed. The lawsuit itself does not establish that the administration violated the Constitution, while the White House’s allegations against the news organisations remain the administration’s stated position rather than findings by a court.
CNN, MS NOW, Politico Sue Trump Over White House Access Ban
18 Suspects Transferred to US Over 2021 Killing of Haitian President Moïse
Eighteen suspects accused of involvement in the 2021 assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise have been transferred from Haiti to the United States to face trial.
US officials said the suspects were transported to Florida on Sunday, as American authorities continue their prosecution of people allegedly connected to the plot.
Federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quinones said the suspects were flown from Haiti on a military aircraft to face proceedings in the Southern District of Florida.
He said US authorities had so far indicted 30 people in connection with the assassination and warned that the prosecutions were not over.
Among those transferred was Joseph Felix Badio, a former anti-corruption official with Haiti’s Ministry of Justice who has been identified as a major suspect in the investigation.
Haitian government and police sources said the other suspects includedColombian nationals who were allegedly part of the group involved in the operation.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that 17 of its citizens had been transferred from Haiti to the United States.
The ministry said the Colombian government was monitoring the development but had not participated in the decision or process that led to the transfer.
Moise was killed at his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. Investigators said a group of about 20 Colombian military-trained mercenaries had been hired in connection with the operation.
The president’s security detail came under scrutiny after failing to prevent the attack.
In May, four men were convicted in a Miami federal court over charges connected to the plot, including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moise and providing material support for the operation. They could face life imprisonment.
US prosecutors said the men were linked to CTU Security, a Florida-based private security company, and had allegedly been attracted by the prospect of lucrative contracts after Moise was removed from power.
The assassination plunged Haiti further into political and security turmoil. The country has since struggled with gang violence and remains without a president, while preparations continue for elections scheduled for December, subject to security conditions.
18 Suspects Transferred to US Over 2021 Killing of Haitian President Moïse
