France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Steps Down After Less Than a Month in Power

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

The presidential office made the announcement after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on the start of the week.

This unexpected development comes only 26 days after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the prior administration of François Bayrou.

Various groups in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the makeup of Lecornu's cabinet, which was very close to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.

Demands for New Vote and Government Instability

Several parties are now clamouring for a snap election, with some calling for the President to also leave office - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not stand down before his term ends in the year 2027.

"Macron needs to choose: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.

Lecornu - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in a two-year span.

Context of Political Turmoil

The nation's governance has been very volatile since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.

This has created challenges for every premier to obtain required votes to approve legislation.

The previous administration was defeated in last month after lawmakers refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.

Financial Pressures and Stock Response

The French shortfall hit 5.8 percent of economic output in 2024 and its national debt is 114% of GDP.

That is the number three debt level in the European monetary union after two southern European nations, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.

Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday morning.