The French PM Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a Month in Office
France's Prime Minister 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 Macron for an hour on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after Lecornu was given the PM role following the dissolution of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the structure of the new government, which was very close to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for Early Elections and Government Instability
Several parties are now clamouring for early elections, with some urging Macron to resign too - even though he has always said he will not resign before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to decide: calling new elections or leaving office," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the National Rally.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Turmoil
The nation's governance has been very volatile 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.
Bayrou's government was rejected in September after parliament refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to slash government spending by €44bn.
Financial Challenges and Stock Response
The French shortfall reached 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its national debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third highest public debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the resignation report broke on Monday.
