France was plunged into a new phase of domestic political crisis on Monday as newly appointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu submitted his resignation just hours after his new cabinet was announced.
Left-wing La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon immediately called for MPs to review a motion for the removal from office of French President Emmanuel Macron, while Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally, called for snap elections.
"On Monday morning, the conditions were no longer in place for me to perform my duties as Prime Minister and allow the government to go before the National Assembly tomorrow", Lecornu said, citing a lack of flexibility and compromise among political parties.
The parties "continue to adopt a stance as if they all had an absolute majority in the National Assembly", Lecornu explained. "I found myself in a situation where I was ready to compromise. But each political party wants the other political party to adopt its entire programme."
He also said that the prospect of the next presidential election was giving rise to "partisan appetites".
