France's Premier Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a 30-Day Period in Office
The nation's PM Lecornu has stepped down, under 24 hours after his ministers was announced.
The French presidency confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.
This unexpected development comes only less than a month after he was given the PM role following the collapse of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Various groups in the French parliament had fiercely criticised the structure of his ministerial team, which was very close to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.
Demands for New Vote and Political Unrest
Several parties are now calling for new parliamentary polls, with others calling for Macron to also leave office - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his mandate concludes in five years from now.
"The President needs to pick: calling new elections or leaving office," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).
The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth French PM in under two years.
Context of Government Turmoil
French politics has been very volatile since last summer, when early legislative polls resulted in a no clear majority.
This has created challenges for every premier to garner the necessary support to enact new laws.
The previous administration was voted down in autumn after parliament refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion.
Financial Challenges and Market Response
The French shortfall stood at nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its government debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the number three debt level in the eurozone after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost 50k euros for each resident.
Markets declined in the French stock market after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on the start of the week.
