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PARIS (Reuters) -France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, just hours after appointing his new cabinet, after allies and foes alike threatened to topple his government.<\/p>\n
His resignation was unexpected and unprecedented and marked another major deepening of France’s political crisis. French stocks dropped sharply, as did the euro, on news of the resignation. |<\/p>\n
After weeks of consultations with political parties across the board, Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday appointed his ministers, and the cabinet had been set to hold its first meeting on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
But the new cabinet line-up had angered opponents and allies alike, who either found it too rightwing or not enough, 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.<\/p>\n
Lecornu handed his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
French politics has become increasingly unstable since Macron’s re-election in 2022 for want of any party or grouping holding a parliamentary majority.<\/p>\n
Macron’s decision to call a snap parliamentary election last year deepened the crisis by producing an even more fragmented parliament. Lecornu, who was only appointed last month, was Macron’s fifth prime minister in two years.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Michel Rose, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Inti Landauro; Writing by Ingrid MelanderEditing by Gareth Jones)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n