French Prime Minister Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a 30-Day Period in Power
The French Premier Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his government team was unveiled.
The French presidency issued a statement after Lecornu met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only 26 days after Lecornu was given the PM role following the collapse of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Political factions in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was very close to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Calls for Snap Polls and Government Unrest
A number of factions are now demanding early elections, with others demanding Macron to resign too - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not leave before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.
"The President needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth premier in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Turmoil
France's political landscape has been very volatile since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has created challenges for every premier to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
The former cabinet was rejected in last month after the assembly declined to support his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to cut state costs by €44bn.
Financial Challenges and Stock Response
The French shortfall hit 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday morning.
