French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Less Than a 30-Day Period in Office
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his ministers was unveiled.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on the start of the week.
This shock move comes only 26 days after he was named premier following the downfall of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the French parliament had sharply condemned the composition of the new government, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.
Demands for New Vote and Political Instability
Several parties are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with certain voices calling for Macron to also leave office - 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: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the ex-defense chief and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth premier in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Turmoil
French politics has been markedly turbulent since July 2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
Bayrou's government was voted down in last month after lawmakers declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Economic Pressures and Stock Reaction
The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its public debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the European monetary union after Italy and Greece, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Share prices dropped in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM broke on the start of the week.
