French Prime Minister Lecornu Steps Down After Less Than a Month in Power
The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his government team was unveiled.
The Elysée palace confirmed the news after Lecornu met the French President for an hour on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was named premier following the downfall of the prior administration of François Bayrou.
Various groups in the French parliament had strongly opposed the structure of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Demands for Snap Polls and Government Instability
Several parties are now demanding a snap election, with others demanding the President to step down as well - although he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"Macron needs to decide: calling new elections or leaving office," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party.
Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in less than 24 months.
Background of Government Turmoil
French politics has been very volatile since mid-2024, when early legislative polls resulted in a hung parliament.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to secure enough backing to pass any bills.
Bayrou's government was rejected in September after lawmakers voted against his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.
Financial Pressures and Stock Response
The nation's budget gap hit 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its public debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after two southern European nations, and equal to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the French stock market after the announcement about the PM was released on the start of the week.
