France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Under a Month in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his government team was presented.
The French presidency made the announcement after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only less than a month after he was given the PM role following the collapse of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Parties across the board in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the structure of the new government, which was mostly similar to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Calls for Snap Polls and Political Instability
A number of factions are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with certain voices urging the President to resign too - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in 2027.
"The President needs to decide: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth premier in a two-year span.
Background of Government Crisis
France's political landscape has been highly unstable since July 2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
Bayrou's government was rejected in last month after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to cut state costs by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Stock Reaction
The nation's budget gap stood at nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its government debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after two southern European nations, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday morning.
