French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigns after less than a month

France’s Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has resigned after less than a month in the post. French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation, the Elysée Palace confirmed. Mr. Lecornu’s sudden departure, which was described as unexpected and unprecedented, came just hours after he announced his new cabinet lineup on Sunday.
The composition of the new government was met with immediate and widespread criticism from both political allies and opponents, some of whom claimed it was either too right-wing or not right-wing enough, leading to threats to topple the government.

The new cabinet was scheduled to hold its first meeting on Monday afternoon.

Mr. Lecornu, 39, an ally of President Macron, was appointed prime minister on September 9 and was the seventh individual to hold the post during Macron’s presidency, and the fifth in the last two years.

The resignation further deepens France’s political crisis, which is marked by a fragmented parliament where no single group holds an absolute majority.

The political instability immediately affected financial markets. French stocks dropped sharply, with the CAC 40 index down by 1.5%. French banks led a market sell-off, as Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole all experienced significant drops.

The euro also fell against the sterling and the dollar, and French government borrowing costs on the bond markets rose to levels last seen about a month prior, during a previous political stalemate.

In response to the continuing political deadlock, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, called for the impeachment of President Macron.