France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a Month in the Role
The French Premier Lecornu has handed in his resignation, shortly after his cabinet was unveiled.
The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met the French President for an meeting on the start of the week.
This shock move comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was given the PM role following the collapse of the previous government of his predecessor.
Various groups in the National Assembly had strongly opposed the makeup of his ministerial team, which was very close to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.
Calls for Snap Polls and Political Instability
Multiple political groups are now demanding a snap election, with certain voices calling for the President to step down as well - even though he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his term ends in five years from now.
"The President needs to choose: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of leading figures of the far right National Rally (RN).
The outgoing PM - the ex-defense chief and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years.
Context of Government Crisis
The nation's governance has been markedly turbulent since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.
This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.
The previous administration was defeated in last month after the assembly voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.
Economic Pressures and Stock Reaction
The French shortfall reached 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 eurozone after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the resignation report emerged on Monday.
