France's Premier Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Less Than a Month in the Role
The nation's PM Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his government team was presented.
The presidential office made the announcement after Lecornu met Macron for an hour on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the French parliament had sharply condemned the structure of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Demands for Early Elections and Political Instability
Multiple political groups are now clamouring for a snap election, with some demanding Macron to resign too - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"The President needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or leaving office," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth French PM in under two years.
Context of Political Crisis
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has made it difficult for every premier to obtain required votes to enact new laws.
The previous administration was rejected in autumn after lawmakers declined to support his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to slash government spending by €44bn.
Economic Pressures and Market Response
The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the European monetary union after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the news of Lecornu's resignation broke on Monday morning.
