France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Under a Month in the Role
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his ministers was announced.
The presidential office made the announcement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was given the PM role following the collapse of the previous government of his predecessor.
Various groups in the legislature had sharply condemned the composition of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Demands for Snap Polls and Government Unrest
Several parties are now demanding a snap election, with certain voices calling for Macron to step down as well - despite the fact that he has always said he will not leave before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to choose: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Context of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been markedly turbulent since last summer, when early legislative polls resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has created challenges for each PM to obtain required votes to enact new laws.
The previous administration was voted down in September after lawmakers declined to support his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.
Economic Pressures and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap stood at nearly 6% of the economy in 2024 and its government debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the resignation report was released on the start of the week.