The French PM Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Under a 30-Day Period in Power
The nation's PM Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his ministers was presented.
The French presidency issued a statement after the Prime Minister met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after he was given the PM role following the collapse of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Various groups in the French parliament had fiercely criticised the structure of his ministerial team, which was very close to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.
Demands for New Vote and Government Instability
A number of factions are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with some demanding the President to step down as well - even though he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"The President needs to choose: calling new elections or leaving office," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Government Crisis
French politics has been markedly turbulent since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to pass any bills.
The previous administration was rejected in autumn after lawmakers refused to back his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Market Reaction
The nation's budget gap hit 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its government debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the euro area 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 broke on Monday morning.
