Paris: France’s new Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his new cabinet, after allies and foes alike threatened to topple his government.
His swift resignation was unexpected and unprecedented and marked another major deepening of France’s political crisis.
The far-right National Rally immediately urged President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap parliamentary election or resign. On the far left, France Unbowed also asked for Macron’s departure.
Sebastien Lecornu (left) is a close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron.Credit: AP
After weeks of consultations with political parties across the board, Lecornu, a close ally of Macron, had appointed his ministers on Sunday and they had been set to hold their first meeting on Monday afternoon.
But the new cabinet line-up had angered opponents and allies alike, who either found it too right-wing or not
sufficiently so, raising questions on how long it could last, at a time when France is already mired deep in political crisis, with no group holding a majority in a fragmented parliament.
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Lecornu handed his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.
“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.
Ministers appointed just the previous night found themselves in the bizarre situation of becoming caretaker ministers – kept in place only to manage day-to-day affairs until a new government is formed – before some of them had even been formally installed in office.
