French Prime Minister Lecornu Resigns Following Under a 30-Day Period in the Role

The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his cabinet was presented.

The French presidency 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 Lecornu was given the PM role following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.

Political factions in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the composition of Lecornu's cabinet, which was very close to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.

Pressure for Snap Polls and Government Instability

Several parties are now calling for early elections, with certain voices urging the President to resign too - although he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now.

"Macron needs to pick: calling new elections or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the far right National Rally (RN).

Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in a two-year span.

Context of Political Turmoil

French politics has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.

This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to obtain required votes to pass any bills.

The previous administration was rejected in last month after lawmakers declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to cut state costs by 44 billion euros.

Economic Challenges and Market Response

The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its government debt is more than the total economic output.

That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.

Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday morning.