French PM resigns after Macron’s cabinet gamble backfires

Sebastien Lecornu unexpectedly resigned as France's prime minister on Monday, blaming the intransigence of the groups in the country’s fractured parliament and deepening a national political crisis.

- Bloomberg

Sebastien Lecornu.

(AFP)

The move sparked a selloff in French assets with stocks tumbling by the most since late August and the yield on the benchmark 10-year note rising nine basis points to 3.6%.

While Lecornu was clearly in deep trouble with no majority emerging to back him in parliament, his abrupt departure was a surprise. His resignation came less than 24 hours after President Emmanuel Macron named a new cabinet stacked with centrist loyalists, ignoring threats from opposition parties not to appoint a continuity government. That plan immediately backfired.