French Prime Minister Lecornu Steps Down After Less Than a 30-Day Period in the Role
France's Prime Minister Lecornu has resigned, under 24 hours after his government team was presented.
The Elysée palace issued a statement after Lecornu met Macron for an hour on the start of the week.
This surprising decision comes only under four weeks after he was given the PM role following the dissolution of the prior administration of his predecessor.
Various groups in the National Assembly had sharply condemned the makeup of his ministerial team, which was very close to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.
Pressure for Snap Polls and Political Instability
A number of factions are now demanding a snap election, with some demanding Macron to step down as well - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not leave before his time in office finishes in five years from now.
"The President needs to pick: calling new elections or stepping down," said Sébastien Chenu, one of key representatives of the RN party.
The outgoing PM - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was the fifth premier in a two-year span.
Background of Government Turmoil
France's political landscape has been highly unstable since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a hung parliament.
This has created challenges for any prime minister to garner the necessary support to pass any bills.
The previous administration was rejected in September after parliament declined to support his spending cuts plan, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by $51 billion.
Economic Challenges and Stock Reaction
The nation's budget gap reached 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its national debt is 114% of GDP.
That is the third highest public debt in the eurozone after two southern European nations, and amounting to almost 50,000 euros per person.
Markets declined in the French stock market after the resignation report broke on the start of the week.
