France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Steps Down After Under a Month in Office
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, shortly after his ministers was announced.
The French presidency issued a statement after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only less than a month after Lecornu was given the PM role following the downfall of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Parties across the board in the French parliament had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was very close to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for Early Elections and Government Unrest
Several parties are now calling for a snap election, with others demanding Macron to also leave office - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"The President needs to choose: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Turmoil
French politics has been very volatile since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has posed obstacles for each PM to garner the necessary support to pass any bills.
Bayrou's government was rejected in September after parliament refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to cut state costs by $51 billion.
Economic Challenges and Stock Response
The nation's budget gap reached 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its government debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM broke on Monday.