France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Under a Month in Office
The nation's PM Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his government team was unveiled.
The French presidency confirmed the news after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the makeup of Lecornu's cabinet, which was mostly similar to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for New Vote and Government Unrest
Several parties are now clamouring for new parliamentary polls, with certain voices demanding the President to also leave office - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or resignation," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Government Turmoil
French politics has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a hung parliament.
This has created challenges for each PM to secure enough backing to enact new laws.
Bayrou's government was voted down in September after the assembly voted against his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by €44bn.
Financial Pressures and Market Reaction
The French shortfall stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its government debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and equivalent to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the resignation report was released on Monday.
