French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu Resigns After Just 27 Days and Just 14 Hours After Naming Cabinet

(Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP, File)

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu abruptly resigned on Monday, just 14 hours after presenting his new cabinet and just 27 days into his term, plunging the country’s government into crisis.

Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, had unveiled his team late Sunday following weeks of tense negotiations with rival parties. By Monday morning, however, amid fury from both left and right, he was gone.

The Élysée confirmed the resignation in a brief statement: “Mr. Sebastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his Government to the President of the Republic, who has accepted it.”

It was a stunning collapse even by the standards of Macron’s embattled second term. Lecornu was Macron’s fifth prime minister in two years, and his resignation came barely a month after taking office.

Markets reacted swiftly: the CAC 40 plunged 1.5 percent, making it Europe’s worst performer of the day, while banking giants BNP Paribas, Société Générale, and Crédit Agricole slumped up to 5 percent. The euro also dropped 0.7 percent to $1.1665.

The far-right National Rally followed the news by demanding a national election.

“There can be no return to stability without a return to the polls and the dissolution of the National Assembly,” party leader Jordan Bardella declared.

Macron, whose 2022 reelection left him without a parliamentary majority, has struggled to maintain control of a fractious political landscape. A snap election called last year only worsened the fragmentation.