France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Steps Down Following Under a 30-Day Period in Power
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his government team was unveiled.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after the Prime Minister 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 previous government of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the French parliament had strongly opposed the makeup of Lecornu's cabinet, which was very close to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for Snap Polls and Political Unrest
Several parties are now demanding early elections, with certain voices urging the President to also leave office - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the RN party.
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth premier in a two-year span.
Context of Government Crisis
French politics has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for each PM to obtain required votes to pass any bills.
The former cabinet was defeated in last month after the assembly refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Market Reaction
France's deficit hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Stocks fell sharply in the French stock market after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday morning.
