France's Premier Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a Month in Office
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, shortly after his cabinet was announced.
The presidential office confirmed the news after Lecornu met the French President for an meeting on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was named premier following the downfall of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the French parliament had sharply condemned the makeup of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for Early Elections and Government Instability
Multiple political groups are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with certain voices calling for Macron to also leave office - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.
"The President needs to choose: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in a two-year span.
Background of Political Crisis
The nation's governance has been very volatile since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was voted down in last month after lawmakers declined to support his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.
Economic Challenges and Stock Response
France's deficit reached nearly 6% of the economy in 2024 and its government debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM broke on Monday.
