🔗 Share this article French Prime Minister Lecornu Resigns Following Less Than a Month in the Role France's Prime Minister Lecornu has stepped down, under 24 hours after his ministers was unveiled. The French presidency made the announcement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning. This surprising decision comes only less than a month after Lecornu was given the PM role following the collapse of the previous government of his predecessor. Political factions in the French parliament had strongly opposed the makeup of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and promised to block its approval. Demands for New Vote and Political Instability Several parties are now clamouring for new parliamentary polls, with some calling for the President to step down as well - even though he has always said he will not stand down before his term ends in five years from now. "Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or resignation," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally. Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was the fifth premier in under two years. Context of Political Turmoil The nation's governance has been markedly turbulent since July 2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a deadlocked assembly. This has created challenges for each PM to obtain required votes to enact new laws. The previous administration was defeated in September after parliament refused to back his spending cuts plan, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion. Economic Challenges and Market Response The nation's budget gap hit 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its national debt is 114% of GDP. That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Italy and Greece, and amounting to almost €50,000 per French citizen. Stocks fell sharply in the Paris bourse after the announcement about the PM emerged on the start of the week.