The French PM Lecornu Resigns After Under a 30-Day Period in the Role
The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, under 24 hours after his ministers was announced.
The French presidency issued a statement after Lecornu met the French President for an hour on the start of the week.
This unexpected development comes only 26 days after he was named premier following the downfall of the previous government of François Bayrou.
Political factions in the legislature had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was very close to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.
Pressure for Early Elections and Political Unrest
Several parties are now calling for new parliamentary polls, with certain voices urging Macron to resign too - although he has always said he will not resign before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"The President needs to decide: parliament's dissolution or leaving office," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.
Context of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when early legislative polls resulted in a hung parliament.
This has posed obstacles for every premier to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
Bayrou's government was rejected in September after lawmakers declined to support his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to cut state costs by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges 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 largest government debt in the European monetary union after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the French stock market after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday morning.
