🔗 Share this article The French PM Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a Month in Office The nation's PM Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his cabinet was announced. The presidential office confirmed the news after Lecornu met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning. This shock move comes only 26 days after Lecornu was given the PM role following the downfall of the prior administration of his predecessor. Various groups in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the structure of his ministerial team, which was very close to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it. Demands for Snap Polls and Government Unrest Multiple political groups are now clamouring for early elections, with others demanding the President to also leave office - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not resign before his mandate concludes in five years from now. "The President needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or leaving office," said Chenu, one of leading figures of the RN party. Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years. Background of Government Turmoil French politics has been very volatile since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority. This has made it difficult for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to pass any bills. The previous administration was defeated in last month after parliament refused to back his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn. Financial Challenges and Market Reaction The nation's budget gap stood at 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 European monetary union after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen. Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on the start of the week.