France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Tenders Resignation Following Under a Month in the Role
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has handed in his resignation, shortly after his ministers was unveiled.
The presidential office confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only less than a month after Lecornu was given the PM role following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the composition of the new government, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Pressure for New Vote and Government Instability
A number of factions are now clamouring for a snap election, with certain voices demanding the President to also leave office - although he has consistently affirmed he will not resign before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Context of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for every premier to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.
The former cabinet was rejected in last month after parliament declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.
Financial Pressures and Stock Reaction
France's deficit stood at nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the news of Lecornu's resignation broke on Monday.
