France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Under a 30-Day Period in Power
The nation's PM Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his ministers was unveiled.
The French presidency issued a statement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after he was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the composition of Lecornu's cabinet, which was very close to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for Snap Polls and Government Instability
A number of factions are now demanding early elections, with some calling for Macron to resign too - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"The President needs to pick: calling new elections or stepping down," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Background of Political Crisis
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when early legislative polls resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for every premier to obtain required votes to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was defeated in September after the assembly declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Economic Challenges and Stock Response
France's deficit reached 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its government debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the euro area after two southern European nations, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Stocks fell sharply in the Paris bourse after the resignation report broke on Monday morning.