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France PM Sebastien Lecornu resigns hours after reveal of new cabinet
The unexpected resignation has once again revealed the deepening political crisis in France
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has resigned hours after appointing new cabinet, reports said. Lecornu, a former defence minister, was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron last month.
The unexpected resignation has once again revealed the deepening political crisis in France
"Mr. Sebastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his Government to the President of the Republic, who has accepted it," the Elysee's press office said.
Lecornu, a close ally of Macron, on Sunday appointed his cabinet after weeks of consultations with political parties and the cabinet was set to hold its first meeting on Monday. But Macron's largely unchanged cabinet announcement triggered a backlash from opposition parties and even his own supporters.
French Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, whose party holds a potential swing vote in parliament, said Macron’s group is imploding and the new government has no legitimacy left, Bloomberg reported. “We are witnessing an unprecedented political crisis,” he said before Lecornu's resignation.
France is grappling with political and economic crisis as Lecornu's two immediate predecessors, Francois Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the legislative chamber in a standoff over the spending plan.
Official data indicates that France's public debt has reached a record high and France's debt-to-GDP ratio is now the European Union's third highest after Greece and Italy.
