French Prime Minister Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a 30-Day Period in the Role
The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his cabinet was presented.
The French presidency confirmed the news after Lecornu met the French President for an meeting on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the previous government of his predecessor.
Various groups in the French parliament had sharply condemned the makeup of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for Snap Polls and Government Instability
Several parties are now demanding a snap election, with others calling for Macron to also leave office - although he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to choose: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the RN party.
Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a supporter of Macron - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Background of Government Turmoil
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.
This has made it difficult for each PM to secure enough backing to enact new laws.
The previous administration was defeated in last month after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to cut state costs by €44bn.
Economic Challenges and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap hit 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its national debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the European monetary union after two southern European nations, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the resignation report emerged on the start of the week.