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The French Premier Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, shortly after his cabinet was presented.

The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met Macron for an meeting on Monday morning.

This unexpected development comes only 26 days after he was named premier following the dissolution of the previous government of François Bayrou.

Political factions in the legislature had fiercely criticised the composition of his ministerial team, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and vowed to reject it.

Demands for Snap Polls and Political Instability

Multiple political groups are now demanding a snap election, with others calling for Macron to resign too - although he has repeatedly stated he will not leave before his term ends in the year 2027.

"Macron needs to pick: dissolution of parliament or leaving office," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the National Rally.

Lecornu - the ex-defense chief and a Macron loyalist - was France's fifth prime minister in less than 24 months.

Context of Government Crisis

French politics has been very volatile since July 2024, when snap parliamentary elections resulted in a no clear majority.

This has made it difficult for each PM to garner the necessary support to approve legislation.

Bayrou's government was rejected in September after the assembly voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to slash government spending by $51 billion.

Financial Pressures and Market Response

The nation's budget gap hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024 and its government debt is more than the total economic output.

That is the third largest government debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and amounting to almost 50k euros for each resident.

Share prices dropped in the French stock market after the resignation report was released on Monday morning.