France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a Month in Power
The nation's PM Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his ministers was presented.
The presidential office made the announcement after the Prime Minister met Macron for an meeting on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Various groups in the French parliament had strongly opposed the composition of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for New Vote and Political Unrest
A number of factions are now demanding a snap election, with others demanding the President to resign too - despite the fact that he has always said he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"The President needs to choose: calling new elections or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Background of Political Turmoil
The nation's governance has been markedly turbulent since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.
This has made it difficult for every premier to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
The previous administration was rejected in last month after parliament declined to support his austerity budget, which aimed to cut state costs by $51 billion.
Economic Pressures and Stock Response
The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its public debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and equivalent to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the news of Lecornu's resignation emerged on Monday morning.
