France's Premier Steps Down After Less Than a Month Amid Widespread Condemnation of Freshly Appointed Ministers

The French political turmoil has deepened after the freshly installed PM unexpectedly quit within hours of announcing a government.

Swift Resignation Amid Government Instability

The prime minister was the third French prime minister in a single year, as the nation continued to lurch from one parliamentary instability to another. He quit a short time before his opening government session on the start of the week. The president approved Lecornu's resignation on the start of the day.

Strong Backlash Over New Cabinet

Lecornu had faced intense backlash from opposition politicians when he announced a new government that was mostly identical since last month's ousting of his former PM, the previous prime minister.

The announced cabinet was led by President Emmanuel Macron's political partners, leaving the cabinet largely similar.

Political Reaction

Opposition parties said France's leader had reversed on the "major shift" with past politics that he had promised when he assumed office from the disliked previous leader, who was ousted on September 9th over a proposed budget squeeze.

Future Government Course

The issue now is whether the president will decide to terminate the legislature and call another sudden poll.

Jordan Bardella, the leader of the opposition figure's opposition group, said: "We cannot achieve a restoration of calm without a return to the ballot box and the parliament's termination."

He continued, "It was very clearly Emmanuel Macron who chose this cabinet himself. He has misinterpreted of the political situation we are in."

Vote Calls

The far-right party has demanded another election, thinking they can increase their representation and influence in the legislature.

The country has gone through a phase of instability and political crisis since the centrist Macron called an unclear early vote last year. The assembly remains separated between the main groups: the progressive side, the nationalist group and the centre, with no absolute dominance.

Budget Deadline

A budget for next year must be passed within weeks, even though political parties are at loggerheads and Lecornu's tenure ended in under four weeks.

Opposition Motion

Parties from the left to far right were to hold meetings on the start of the week to decide whether or not to vote to remove France's leader in a no-confidence vote, and it looked that the government would fall before it had even commenced functioning. The prime minister seemingly decided to step down before he could be removed.

Ministerial Positions

Nearly all of the big government posts declared on the night before remained the unchanged, including the justice minister as justice minister and arts and heritage leader as cultural affairs leader.

The responsibility of financial affairs leader, which is vital as a split assembly struggles to agree on a budget, went to Roland Lescure, a presidential supporter who had previously served as economic sector leader at the start of the president's latest mandate.

Surprise Appointment

In a shocking development, the president's political partner, a government partner who had served as economic policy head for seven years of his term, returned to government as defence minister. This enraged politicians across the spectrum, who considered it a sign that there would be no challenging or alteration of Macron's pro-business stance.

Tammy Butler
Tammy Butler

A passionate tech educator and career coach with over a decade of experience in digital skills training and professional development.