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France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stepped down, less than a day after his ministers was unveiled.

The Elysée palace issued a statement after the Prime Minister met Macron for an 60-minute discussion on Monday morning.

This shock move comes only 26 days after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of the prior administration of François Bayrou.

Political factions in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the structure of Lecornu's cabinet, which was largely unchanged to the previous one, and threatened to vote it down.

Pressure for New Vote and Political Instability

A number of factions are now demanding new parliamentary polls, with some calling for the President to resign too - although he has consistently affirmed he will not leave before his time in office finishes in five years from now.

"Macron needs to decide: calling new elections or resignation," said Chenu, one of key representatives of the far right National Rally (RN).

Lecornu - the previous military head and a ally of the President - was France's fifth prime minister in less than 24 months.

Background of Political Crisis

France's political landscape has been highly unstable since mid-2024, when sudden national voting resulted in a no clear majority.

This has posed obstacles for each PM to secure enough backing to enact new laws.

The former cabinet was voted down in last month after the assembly voted against his austerity budget, which aimed to reduce public expenditure by 44 billion euros.

Financial Challenges and Stock Response

The French shortfall hit 5.8% of GDP in the current year and its national debt is more than the total economic output.

That is the third highest public debt in the euro area after Greece and Italy, and equivalent to almost 50,000 euros per person.

Markets declined in the Paris exchange after the resignation report broke on Monday.