French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Less Than a Month in Power
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, shortly after his government team was presented.
The Elysée palace issued a statement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This unexpected development comes only 26 days after he was given the PM role following the dissolution of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the structure of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for Snap Polls and Political Unrest
Multiple political groups are now calling for new parliamentary polls, with others urging Macron to resign too - although he has consistently affirmed he will not resign before his term ends in 2027.
"Macron needs to choose: calling new elections or resignation," said Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Crisis
France's political landscape has been markedly turbulent since July 2024, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for each PM to garner the necessary support to enact new laws.
The former cabinet was rejected in last month after parliament refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Market Response
The nation's budget gap hit nearly 6% of the economy in 2024 and its government debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third highest public debt in the eurozone after two southern European nations, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the Paris exchange after the resignation report was released on Monday.
