🔗 Share this article France's Premier Sébastien Lecornu Resigns After Less Than a Month in Power The nation's PM Sébastien Lecornu has handed in his resignation, less than a day after his cabinet was announced. The presidential office issued a statement after the Prime Minister met the French President for an hour on the start of the week. This unexpected development comes only under four weeks after he was given the PM role following the downfall of the previous government of his predecessor. Political factions in the legislature had strongly opposed the makeup of his ministerial team, which was very close to Bayrou's, and vowed to reject it. Demands for New Vote and Government Instability Several parties are now demanding early elections, with some calling for Macron to also leave office - despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated he will not stand down before his time in office finishes in the year 2027. "The President needs to decide: dissolution of parliament or resignation," said Sébastien Chenu, one of prominent members of the far right National Rally (RN). Lecornu - the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in under two years. Context of Political Crisis The nation's governance has been highly unstable since last summer, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a deadlocked assembly. This has posed obstacles for every premier to garner the necessary support to enact new laws. Bayrou's government was rejected in autumn after lawmakers refused to back his fiscal tightening package, which aimed to cut state costs by 44 billion euros. Economic Pressures and Market Response The French shortfall reached 5.8 percent of economic output in the current year and its government debt is 114 percent of GDP. That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and equal to almost €50,000 per French citizen. Stocks fell sharply in the Paris exchange after the news of Lecornu's resignation was released on Monday morning.