French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a 30-Day Period in Power
The French Premier Lecornu has handed in his resignation, shortly after his ministers was unveiled.
The French presidency confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on the start of the week.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was named premier following the dissolution of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the legislature had strongly opposed the composition of his ministerial team, which was very close to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.
Demands for New Vote and Government Instability
Multiple political groups are now demanding a snap election, with some calling for the President to step down as well - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not leave before his term ends in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to pick: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in under two years.
Context of Government Crisis
French politics has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for each PM to secure enough backing to enact new laws.
The former cabinet was defeated in autumn after the assembly declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion.
Economic Pressures and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its national debt is 114% 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 French stock market after the announcement about the PM broke on Monday morning.
