The French PM Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a Month in the Role
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his ministers was announced.
The Elysée palace issued a statement after Lecornu met Macron for an hour on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only less than a month after he was named premier following the downfall of the previous government of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the French parliament had fiercely criticised the structure of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Calls for New Vote and Government Instability
A number of factions are now demanding a snap election, with others urging Macron to step down as well - despite the fact that he has always said he will not stand down before his term ends in 2027.
"Macron needs to choose: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in under two years.
Background of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been very volatile since July 2024, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has created challenges for each PM to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was voted down in autumn after the assembly voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.
Economic Pressures and Market Response
The French shortfall reached 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its government debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen.
Share prices dropped in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday morning.
