French Prime Minister Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Under a Month in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his government team was unveiled.
The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was given the PM role following the dissolution of the previous government of his predecessor.
Political factions in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the composition of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Demands for New Vote and Government Instability
Multiple political groups are now calling for a snap election, with certain voices urging the President to also leave office - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to decide: parliament's dissolution or stepping down," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the previous military head and a supporter of Macron - was France's fifth prime minister in less than 24 months.
Context of Government Turmoil
French politics has been highly unstable since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has made it difficult for every premier to obtain required votes to enact new laws.
Bayrou's government was defeated in autumn after lawmakers refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to cut state costs by €44bn.
Financial Challenges and Stock Response
The nation's budget gap reached 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its national debt is more than the total economic output.
That is the third largest government debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the resignation report broke on Monday.
