France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a Month in the Role
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has handed in his resignation, under 24 hours after his government team was announced.
The French presidency made the announcement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after he was named premier following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Political factions in the legislature had fiercely criticised the composition of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for New Vote and Government Unrest
A number of factions are now demanding early elections, with certain voices calling for the President to also leave office - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to choose: calling new elections or resignation," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in under two years.
Background of Political Turmoil
French politics has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a no clear majority.
This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to secure enough backing to enact new laws.
The former cabinet was rejected in autumn after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap reached nearly 6% of the economy in 2024 and its public debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Stocks fell sharply in the French stock market after the resignation report broke on Monday morning.