French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Steps Down After Under a Month in Power
The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his cabinet was announced.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was given the PM role following the collapse of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Parties across the board in the French parliament had sharply condemned the structure of Lecornu's cabinet, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for Early Elections and Government Unrest
Several parties are now clamouring for a snap election, with others demanding the President to step down as well - despite the fact that he has always said he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.
"Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or leaving office," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the National Rally.
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Background of Government Crisis
France's political landscape has been very volatile since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a deadlocked assembly.
This has created challenges for every premier to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
The former cabinet was voted down in autumn after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.
Economic Challenges and Stock Reaction
The nation's budget gap stood at 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its national debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after Italy and Greece, and equivalent to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday morning.
