French Prime Minister Lecornu Steps Down After Under a Month in Office
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has stepped down, under 24 hours after his cabinet was announced.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met the French President for an hour on Monday morning.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the previous government of his predecessor.
Various groups in the legislature had sharply condemned the makeup of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.
Pressure for New Vote and Government Unrest
A number of factions are now calling for a snap election, with certain voices calling for Macron to resign too - although he has consistently affirmed he will not resign before his term ends in five years from now.
"Macron needs to choose: parliament's dissolution or resignation," said Chenu, one of prominent members of the RN party.
Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Context of Political Turmoil
The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a hung parliament.
This has posed obstacles for each PM to obtain required votes to pass any bills.
The previous administration was rejected in last month after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.
Economic Challenges and Stock Reaction
France's deficit 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 euro area after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the announcement about the PM was released on Monday.
