French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, just hours after the announcement of his cabinet, a development that has plunged the country deeper into political deadlock, AFP reports.

The opposition National Rally party has called on Macron to dissolve the National Assembly, according to France 24.

Macron had appointed former defense minister Lecornu to the PM’s post just last month. But the virtually unchanged new cabinet that was presented late Sunday has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum.

Lecornu faced a major challenge: securing approval for a tough austerity budget for next year in a deeply divided parliament.

His two immediate predecessors, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were both removed from office by the legislature following disputes over spending plans. France’s public debt has now reached a record high, according to official data released last week.

France currently has the third-highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the European Union, after Greece and Italy, and the figure is now almost double the EU’s 60% legal threshold.

Previous French governments have pushed through the last three annual budgets without a parliamentary vote — a tactic permitted under the constitution but widely condemned by the opposition. Lecornu, however, had pledged last week to enable lawmakers to vote on the new budget bill.

France has been in a stalemate since Macron had bet on early parliamentary elections in the middle of last year in the hope of consolidating his power. But the move backfired, leaving Macron's friendly alliance in a minority in parliament.