France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a Month in the Role

The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his ministers was presented.

The Elysée palace made the announcement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.

This unexpected development comes only 26 days after he was appointed prime minister following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor.

Political factions in the French parliament had fiercely criticised the makeup of the new government, which was mostly similar to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it.

Calls for Early Elections and Government Instability

Multiple political groups are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with certain voices demanding Macron to resign too - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not stand down before his mandate concludes in the year 2027.

"The President needs to pick: parliament's dissolution or leaving office," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the RN party.

The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in less than 24 months.

Background of Government Crisis

France's political landscape has been highly unstable since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.

This has created challenges for every premier to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.

The former cabinet was defeated in September after lawmakers voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.

Financial Pressures and Market Reaction

The French shortfall stood at 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its government debt is 114% of GDP.

That is the third largest government debt in the euro area after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost 50,000 euros per person.

Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the resignation report broke on Monday.