French Prime Minister Lecornu Resigns After Under a Month in Office
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his government team was unveiled.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on Monday morning.
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 French parliament had strongly opposed the makeup of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for New Vote and Government Instability
A number of factions are now demanding a snap election, with some urging the President to resign too - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his term ends in 2027.
"The President needs to pick: calling new elections or leaving office," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the RN party.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Background of Government Turmoil
French politics has been very volatile since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to enact new laws.
The former cabinet was defeated in September after the assembly voted against his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to slash government spending by €44bn.
Financial Challenges and Stock Reaction
The nation's budget gap reached 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its public debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM broke on Monday.
