France’s prime minister resigns

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned after less than a month in office on Monday and less than 24 hours after naming a new government that prompted a key coalition ally to withdraw support.

- By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AND JOHN LEICESTER

The move deepened the country’s political crisis and left President Emmanuel Macron with few options.

The presidency said that Macron, who has been hitting record lows in opinion polls, accepted the resignation.

Lecornu had replaced his predecessor, Francois Bayrou, on Sept. 9 to become France’s fourth prime minister in barely ayear duringa prolonged period of political instability. Lecornu is now the shortest-serving prime minister in the history of the Fifth Republic, which started in 1958.

French politics have been in disarray since Macron called an early legislative election last year that produced a deeply fragmented National Assembly. Farright and left-wing lawmakers hold more than 320 seats in the lower house, while the centrists and allied conservatives hold 210, with no party having an overall majority.

Despite more than three weeks of efforts to secure enough support to avoid a no-confidence vote, Lecornu was forced out just hours after forming his Cabinet on Sunday, having lost the support of conservatives who hold 50 seats and who objected to his choice for defense minister.