French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a 30-Day Period in Office
The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, under 24 hours after his ministers was unveiled.
The presidential office issued a statement after Lecornu met Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only 26 days after he was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Parties across the board in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the composition of his ministerial team, which was very close to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for New Vote and Political Unrest
Several parties are now calling for a snap election, with others urging Macron to step down as well - even though he has always said he will not resign before his term ends in the year 2027.
"The President needs to decide: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth premier in a two-year span.
Context of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since July 2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for each PM to garner the necessary support to pass any bills.
The previous administration was defeated in last month after parliament voted against his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Financial Pressures and Stock Response
France's deficit stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its public debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the eurozone after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM was released on Monday.
