French Prime Minister Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a 30-Day Period in Office
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his ministers was presented.
The French presidency issued a statement after the Prime Minister met Macron for an hour on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was given the PM role following the downfall of the previous government of his predecessor.
Various groups in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the structure of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for New Vote and Political Unrest
A number of factions are now calling for early elections, with some demanding Macron to also leave office - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to decide: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in less than 24 months.
Background of Political Crisis
France's political landscape has been markedly turbulent since mid-2024, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for every premier to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was defeated in autumn after the assembly refused to back his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Economic Challenges and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap hit 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the eurozone after Italy and Greece, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM emerged on the start of the week.
