France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Steps Down After Under a 30-Day Period in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his cabinet was announced.
The French presidency issued a statement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after he was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Political factions in the French parliament had sharply condemned the structure of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for Early Elections and Government Unrest
Multiple political groups are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with some calling for Macron to resign too - although he has consistently affirmed he will not resign before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in less than 24 months.
Context of Government Turmoil
French politics has been very volatile since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a no clear majority.
This has made it difficult for every premier to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was defeated in September after parliament declined to support his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Stock Response
The French shortfall reached 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its government debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the eurozone after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Share prices dropped in the Paris exchange after the resignation report was released on Monday morning.
