The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on Monday morning.

The shock move comes only 26 days Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the previous government of François Bayrou.

Parties across the board in the National Assembly had fiercely criticised the composition of Lecornu’s cabinet, which was largely unchanged from Bayrou’s, and threatened to vote it down.

Several parties are now clamouring for early elections, with some calling for Macron to resign too – although he has always said he will not stand down before his term ends in 2027.

Lecornu – the former armed forces minister and a Macron loyalist – was France’s fifth prime minister in under two years.

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