French Prime Minister Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a 30-Day Period in the Role

France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his cabinet was presented.

The presidential office confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.

This surprising decision comes only 26 days after Lecornu was named premier following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.

Political factions in the French parliament had strongly opposed the composition of his ministerial team, which was mostly similar to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.

Calls for Snap Polls and Government Instability

A number of factions are now calling for a snap election, with some demanding the President to resign too - even though he has always said he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in the year 2027.

"The President needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).

Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.

Context of Political Crisis

French politics has been markedly turbulent since July 2024, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a deadlocked assembly.

This has posed obstacles for each PM to obtain required votes to approve legislation.

The previous administration was rejected in last month after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by 44 billion euros.

Economic Pressures and Market Reaction

The French shortfall hit nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its national debt is more than the total economic output.

That is the third largest government debt in the eurozone after Italy and Greece, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen.

Stocks fell sharply in the Paris bourse after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday.