The French PM Lecornu Steps Down Following Under a Month in Office
The nation's PM Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his government team was announced.
The Elysée palace issued a statement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an hour on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and promised to block its approval.
Pressure for New Vote and Government Unrest
Multiple political groups are now clamouring for a snap election, with certain voices urging the President to resign too - even though he has always said he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"The President needs to decide: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Political Turmoil
The nation's governance has been markedly turbulent since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.
This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to secure enough backing to approve legislation.
The previous administration was rejected in autumn after lawmakers voted against his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion.
Financial Pressures and Market Reaction
France's deficit stood at 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its national debt is 114 percent of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Stocks fell sharply in the French stock market after the resignation report broke on Monday.
