French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Under a Month in the Role
The French Premier Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his government team was unveiled.
The French presidency made the announcement after Lecornu met the French President for an meeting on the start of the week.
This shock move comes only under four weeks after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Political factions in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the structure of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Pressure for New Vote and Political Unrest
A number of factions are now demanding a snap election, with some demanding the President to resign too - even though he has always said he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or leaving office," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the far right National Rally (RN).
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in a two-year span.
Context of Government Turmoil
French politics has been highly unstable since July 2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a no clear majority.
This has made it difficult for each PM to garner the necessary support to pass any bills.
Bayrou's government was defeated in last month after the assembly declined to support his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Stock Response
The nation's budget gap hit nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the European monetary union after two southern European nations, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the resignation report emerged on Monday morning.
