French Prime Minister Lecornu Steps Down Following Under a Month in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his government team was presented.
The French presidency made the announcement after the Prime Minister met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only under four weeks after he was given the PM role following the collapse of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the legislature had fiercely criticised the makeup of Lecornu's cabinet, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Demands for New Vote and Government Unrest
Several parties are now calling for early elections, with others demanding the President to resign too - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.
"The President needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in a two-year span.
Background of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has made it difficult for each PM to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was voted down in September after parliament voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to cut state costs by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Stock Reaction
The French shortfall reached nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its public debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the French stock market after the news of Lecornu's resignation broke on Monday morning.
