France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Less Than a 30-Day Period in Office
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, under 24 hours after his government team was announced.
The presidential office confirmed the news after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after he was given the PM role following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Various groups in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and threatened to vote it down.
Demands for New Vote and Political Instability
A number of factions are now clamouring for early elections, with others demanding the President to step down as well - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his term ends in the year 2027.
"The President needs to decide: parliament's dissolution or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Crisis
The nation's governance has been very volatile since last summer, when early legislative polls resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for every premier to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was voted down in September after parliament voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to cut state costs by €44bn.
Financial Challenges and Stock Response
France's deficit hit 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the eurozone after Italy and Greece, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the Paris bourse after the news of Lecornu's resignation broke on Monday morning.
