🔗 Share this article

France's Prime Minister Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his cabinet was presented.

The French presidency made the announcement after Lecornu met Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.

This unexpected development comes only less than a month after Lecornu was given the PM role following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.

Parties across the board in the legislature had strongly opposed the composition of the new government, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.

Pressure for Early Elections and Government Unrest

Several parties are now demanding early elections, with some demanding the President to step down as well - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not resign before his term ends in five years from now.

"Macron needs to decide: calling new elections or leaving office," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the RN party.

Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a supporter of Macron - was France's fifth prime minister in less than 24 months.

Context of Political Turmoil

The nation's governance has been very volatile since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a hung parliament.

This has made it difficult for any prime minister to secure enough backing to pass any bills.

Bayrou's government was rejected in autumn after the assembly voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.

Financial Pressures and Stock Response

The nation's budget gap hit nearly 6% of the economy in the current year and its public debt is 114 percent of GDP.

That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen.

Stocks fell sharply in the Paris bourse after the resignation report broke on the start of the week.