French Prime Minister Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a 30-Day Period in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, under 24 hours after his ministers was announced.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This shock move comes only less than a month after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the French parliament had sharply condemned the structure of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Calls for Early Elections and Government Instability
Multiple political groups are now demanding early elections, with certain voices demanding the President to step down as well - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"The President needs to decide: parliament's dissolution or leaving office," said Chenu, one of prominent members of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Crisis
France's political landscape has been highly unstable since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.
This has posed obstacles for each PM to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.
Bayrou's government was defeated in last month after parliament declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Economic Pressures and Stock Response
The French shortfall stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the news of Lecornu's resignation emerged on the start of the week.
