French government collapses in no-confidence vote
The French government has collapsed following Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s removal in a no-confidence vote. MPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of the motion against him, just three months after President Emmanuel Macron appointed him.
The opposition parties brought forward the motion after Barnier, a former Brexit negotiator, controversially used special powers to pass his budget without a vote.
This marks the first time since 1962 that the French government has fallen due to a no-confidence vote. The move is expected to exacerbate political instability in France, which already faces a divided parliament after snap elections this summer, with no single party holding a majority.
For the vote on Wednesday, MPs were required to either vote yes or abstain, with 288 votes needed for the motion to succeed.
A total of 331 MPs voted in favor. Barnier is now required to submit his government’s resignation, and the budget that led to his downfall is effectively nullified. However, he is likely to remain as caretaker prime minister while Macron selects a successor.
Both the left-wing and far-right factions filed no-confidence motions after Barnier bypassed parliamentary approval to push through social security reforms by presidential decree on Monday, following his failure to secure enough backing for the proposals.
The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), which had the most seats in the parliamentary elections, had previously criticized Macron’s decision to appoint Barnier over their own candidate.
Alongside the far-right National Rally (RN), it deemed Barnier’s budget – which included €60bn (£49bn) in deficit reduction – unacceptable.
Marine Le Pen, the RN leader, said the budget was “toxic for the French”.
Ahead of the vote, Barnier told the National Assembly that voting him out of office would not solve the country’s financial problems.
“We have reached a moment of truth, of responsibility,” he said, adding that “we need to look at the realities of our debt”.
“It is not a pleasure that I propose difficult measures.”
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Wednesday, Le Pen said there was “no other solution” than to remove Barnier.
Asked about the French president’s prospects, she replied: “I am not asking for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron.”
However, Le Pen added that “if we do not respect the voice of voters and show respect for political forces and respect for elections”, then pressure on the president will “obviously be stronger and stronger”.
Macron, who has returned to France following a state visit to Saudi Arabia, is due to give a televised speech to the nation on Thursday evening.
He is not directly affected by the result of the vote, as France votes for its president separately from its government.
Macron had said he would not resign whatever the outcome of Wednesday’s vote.
He is expected to name a new prime minister swiftly to avoid the embarrassment of a non-existent government – not least because US President-elect Donald Trump is due in Paris this weekend for the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral.
No new parliamentary elections can be held until July, so the current deadlock in the Assembly – where no group can hope to have a working majority – is set to continue.
