France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a 30-Day Period in Power
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his ministers was unveiled.
The Elysée palace issued a statement after Lecornu met the French President for an meeting on the start of the week.
This shock move comes only under four weeks after he was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the legislature had sharply condemned the composition of the new government, which was very close to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for Snap Polls and Political Unrest
Multiple political groups are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with some urging the President to also leave office - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to decide: calling new elections or stepping down," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth premier in under two years.
Background of Government Turmoil
The nation's governance has been very volatile since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for every premier to obtain required votes to pass any bills.
The previous administration was defeated in last month after parliament voted against his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Stock Response
France's deficit reached 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Share prices dropped in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday.
