French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns Following Under a 30-Day Period in the Role

The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his government team was presented.

The French presidency confirmed the news after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on the start of the week.

This shock move comes only under four weeks after Lecornu was given the PM role following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.

Political factions in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the composition of the new government, which was largely unchanged to Bayrou's, and promised to block its approval.

Calls for Early Elections and Political Unrest

Multiple political groups are now calling for early elections, with others calling for the President to resign too - despite the fact that he has consistently affirmed he will not resign before his term ends in the year 2027.

"Macron needs to choose: dissolution of parliament or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.

The outgoing PM - the former armed forces minister and a supporter of Macron - was the fifth French PM in under two years.

Context of Government Crisis

France's political landscape has been very volatile since last summer, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly.

This has posed obstacles for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.

Bayrou's government was defeated in last month after parliament declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by €44bn.

Economic Pressures and Market Response

The French shortfall reached 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its national debt is 114% of GDP.

That is the third largest government debt in the euro area after two southern European nations, and equivalent to almost €50,000 per French citizen.

Markets declined in the Paris bourse after the news of Lecornu's resignation broke on Monday.