The French PM Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Less Than a Month in Office
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his cabinet was unveiled.
The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met the French President for an meeting on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after he was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the legislature had sharply condemned the structure of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for Snap Polls and Government Unrest
A number of factions are now calling for a snap election, with others demanding the President to also leave office - despite the fact that he has always said he will not stand down before his term ends in 2027.
"Macron needs to choose: parliament's dissolution or leaving office," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in under two years.
Context of Government Crisis
French politics has been very volatile since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to pass any bills.
The previous administration was rejected in September after lawmakers refused to back his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to cut state costs by €44bn.
Financial Pressures and Market Reaction
France's deficit reached 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 euro area after Italy and Greece, and amounting to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Share prices dropped in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM broke on the start of the week.
