France's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned on Monday, barely 14 hours after appointing his new cabinet, after allies and foes alike threatened to topple his government, driving French stocks and the euro sharply lower.
His swift resignation was unexpected and unprecedented and marked another major deepening of France's political crisis.
The far-right National Rally immediately urged President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap parliamentary election.
After weeks of consultations with political parties across the board, Lecornu, a close ally of Macron, had appointed his ministers on Sunday and they had been set to hold their first meeting on Monday afternoon.
But the new cabinet line-up had angered opponents and allies alike, who either found it too right-wing or not sufficiently so, raising questions on how long it could last, at a time when France is already mired deep in political crisis, with no group holding a majority in a fragmented parliament.
Lecornu handed his resignation to Macron on Monday morning.
"Mr. Sebastien Lecornu has submitted the resignation of his Government to the President of the Republic, who has accepted it," the Elysee's press office said.
French politics has become increasingly unstable since Macron's re-election in 2022 for want of any party or grouping holding a parliamentary majority.
Macron's decision to call a snap parliamentary election last year deepened the crisis by producing an even more fragmented parliament. Lecornu, who was only appointed last month, was Macron's fifth prime minister in two years.
"There can be no return to stability without a return to the polls and the dissolution of the National Assembly," National Rally leader Jordan Bardella said after Lecornu resigned.
Paris' CAC 40 dropped 1.5% as Lecornu resigned, making it the worst-performing index in Europe, as banking shares came under heavy fire, leaving BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole down 4% to 5%.
The euro EUR=EBS slid 0.7% on the day to $1.1665.
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The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
The Japanese government is preparing to host a landmark summit with the leaders of the Central Asian states, expected to take place in Tokyo in December 2025.
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At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of Sofia on Wednesday to protest against the government’s draft budget for 2026, the first to be prepared in euros ahead of the country’s planned eurozone entry on 1 January 2026.
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A simmering diplomatic feud between Washington and Pretoria has erupted into a full-scale crisis, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa describing U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban South Africa from the 2026 G20 summit as "regrettable" and based on "misinformation."
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 28th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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