France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Under a Month in Office
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has handed in his resignation, under 24 hours after his cabinet was announced.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only under four weeks after he was given the PM role following the collapse of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Political factions in the French parliament had strongly opposed the structure of the new government, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for New Vote and Political Instability
A number of factions are now demanding early elections, with some demanding Macron to also leave office - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his term ends in the year 2027.
"The President needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in a two-year span.
Background of Government Turmoil
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for each PM to obtain required votes to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was defeated in autumn after parliament declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion.
Financial Challenges and Market Response
The nation's budget gap reached 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday morning.
