France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Steps Down After Under a Month in Power
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, shortly after his government team was unveiled.
The French presidency issued a statement after Lecornu met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the legislature had strongly opposed the composition of his ministerial team, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for Snap Polls and Government Instability
Multiple political groups are now demanding early elections, with others demanding Macron to step down as well - although he has repeatedly stated he will not leave before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to pick: parliament's dissolution or stepping down," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in under two years.
Context of Government Turmoil
France's political landscape has been very volatile since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for each PM to obtain required votes to enact new laws.
Bayrou's government was rejected in autumn after parliament voted against his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Financial Pressures and Stock Response
The nation's budget gap hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its government debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the resignation report emerged on Monday.