FRANCE’S PM RESIGNS

By Anshika Khera

France’s President Emmanuel Macron accepted Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s resignation . He resigned just hours after unveiling his cabinet, the presidency said, plunging the European nation further into political deadlock. He resigned on Sunday. France’s President Emmanuel Macron named Lecornu, a former defence minister, to the post last month. Lecornu had a difficult job — he needed to get a very divided parliament to agree on a strict budget for next year.The two ministers before him, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, lost their positions because parliament refused to approve their spending plans.

Lecornu had faced the daunting task of finding approval in a deeply divided parliament for an austerity budget for next year.Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors, Francois Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were ousted by the legislative chamber in a standoff over the spending plan. Official data showed last week that France’s public debt has reached a record high. 

France’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now the European Union’s third highest after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the 60 percent permitted under EU rules. Previous governments had rammed the last three annual budgets through parliament without a vote, a method allowed by the constitution but deeply criticised by the opposition. But last week, Lecornu promised that lawmakers would get a chance to vote on the budget bill.France has been stuck in a political deadlock since President Macron called early elections last year, hoping to strengthen his power.The plan failed, and now Macron’s supporters hold only a minority in parliament.