French govt collapses in 14 hrs

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's administration becomes the shortest-lived in modern French history

- REUTERS

France's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his government resigned Monday, hours after Lecornu announced his cabinet lineup, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern French history and deepening the country's political crisis.

The unexpected resignation came after allies and foes alike threatened to topple the new government, with Lecornu saying that meant he could not do his job. The announcement drove stocks and the euro sharply lower.

Opposition parties immediately urged President Emmanuel Macron to resign, or call a snap parliamentary election, saying there was no other way out of the crisis.

Lecornu, who was Macron's fifth prime minister in two years, stayed in the job for only 27 days. His government lasted just 14 hours, highlighting divisions in the French parliament as the euro zone's second-largest economy struggles to put its finances in order.