France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a 30-Day Period in Power
The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his cabinet was presented.
The presidential office made the announcement after Lecornu met the French President for an hour on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only 26 days after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the composition of his ministerial team, which was very close to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Demands for Early Elections and Political Instability
Several parties are now demanding early elections, with certain voices calling for Macron to step down as well - although he has always said he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to pick: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the far right National Rally (RN).
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in a two-year span.
Context of Government Turmoil
France's political landscape has been highly unstable since last summer, 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 defeated in autumn after the assembly declined to support his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Financial Challenges and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap reached nearly 6% of the economy in 2024 and its public debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after two southern European nations, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the resignation report emerged on the start of the week.
