France's Premier Lecornu Resigns After Under a Month in Office
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, shortly after his ministers was announced.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only less than a month after Lecornu was named premier following the downfall of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the legislature had fiercely criticised the composition of his ministerial team, which was mostly similar to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Calls for Snap Polls and Political Instability
Several parties are now demanding a snap election, with some calling for Macron to also leave office - although he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to decide: calling new elections or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Context of Political Turmoil
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to obtain required votes to enact new laws.
The former cabinet was rejected in autumn after parliament voted against his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Market Response
France's deficit hit 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the resignation report was released on Monday.
