France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a 30-Day Period in Office
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has resigned, under 24 hours after his cabinet was unveiled.
The French presidency issued a statement after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was named premier following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Political factions in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the makeup of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for New Vote and Government Instability
A number of factions are now clamouring for a snap election, with some calling for Macron to step down as well - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
The outgoing PM - the ex-defense chief and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth premier in a two-year span.
Background of Government Turmoil
The nation's governance has been markedly turbulent since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to obtain required votes to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was rejected in September after the assembly voted against his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Stock Reaction
The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Italy and Greece, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the announcement about the PM broke on Monday morning.
