French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a Month in the Role
The nation's PM Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his government team was announced.
The French presidency confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only under four weeks after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the previous government of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the legislature had strongly opposed the composition of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Calls for New Vote and Government Unrest
Multiple political groups are now clamouring for new parliamentary polls, with certain voices demanding Macron to step down as well - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"The President needs to pick: calling new elections or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in under two years.
Background of Political Crisis
France's political landscape has been very volatile since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a hung parliament.
This has posed obstacles for each PM to obtain required votes to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was rejected in last month after lawmakers refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Stock Response
France's deficit reached nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its government debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the number three debt level in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday morning.
