The French PM Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a Month in Office
The French Premier Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his ministers was announced.
The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the structure of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for Snap Polls and Political Instability
A number of factions are now clamouring for new parliamentary polls, with others demanding Macron to also leave office - although he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"The President needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or leaving office," said Chenu, one of prominent members of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Context of Political Turmoil
French politics has been markedly turbulent since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for each PM to garner the necessary support to enact new laws.
The former cabinet was defeated in last month after parliament refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Market Reaction
France's deficit hit 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the euro area after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Stocks fell sharply in the French stock market after the announcement about the PM was released on Monday.
