France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Less Than a Month in Power
The nation's PM Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his ministers was presented.
The presidential office confirmed the news after Lecornu met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was named premier following the downfall of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the legislature had fiercely criticised the composition of the new government, which was very close to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for Snap Polls and Political Instability
A number of factions are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with others demanding the President to also leave office - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not stand down before his term ends in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to pick: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in under two years.
Context of Political Turmoil
French politics has been very volatile since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has posed obstacles for every premier to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
The previous administration was rejected in last month after parliament declined to support his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to cut state costs by $51 billion.
Financial Challenges and Stock Reaction
The French shortfall stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Italy and Greece, and equivalent to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Share prices dropped in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM broke on the start of the week.
