France's Premier Lecornu Tenders Resignation After Less Than a Month in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his government team was presented.
The French presidency confirmed the news after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the French parliament had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was very close to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for New Vote and Political Instability
Multiple political groups are now clamouring for new parliamentary polls, with some demanding the President to resign too - although he has always said he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in 2027.
"The President needs to pick: calling new elections or leaving office," said Chenu, one of prominent members of the National Rally.
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth French PM in a two-year span.
Background of Political Crisis
French politics has been very volatile since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.
This has made it difficult for each PM to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
Bayrou's government was defeated in autumn after the assembly refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to slash government spending by €44bn.
Economic Pressures and Stock Response
France's deficit reached 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its public debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM emerged on Monday morning.
