The French government fell after the National Assembly passed a historic vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Barnier’s government is the first French government to be ousted by a vote of no confidence in more than 60 years.
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French Prime Minister Michel Barnier reacts after the results of the confidence vote Credit: Reuters
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Lawmakers gather in the National Assembly during the debate and before the vote of confidence Credit: Getty
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French President Emmanuel Macron is likely to choose a successor quicklyCredit: Reuters
French MPs, including the left and far right combined, voted 331 out of 574 to approve the proposal, exceeding the minimum number of 288.
The vote surged amid fierce opposition to his proposed 2025 social security budget from opposition parties such as the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN).
They remained angry after Barnier said he would push the budget through a presidential decree, even though he did not get the support of MPs.
Such a move has become common under the rule of Macron, who has been accused of ignoring democracy and behaving like a dictator.
Barnier, who was one of the negotiators during Brexit, has now become his country’s shortest-ever prime minister.
He was not elected as an MP and his fall after just three months breaks the record previously held by Socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who held the post for five months, until May 2017.
It is a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron, who now wants to appoint a new prime minister as soon as possible – perhaps even before the weekend.
This is to save him embarrassment as his friend Donald Trump is due to visit Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame – and Macron would not want to see him without the fall of the government.
The new prime minister will face the same challenges as Barnier in passing bills – including the 2025 budget – in a hung parliament.
There cannot be new parliamentary elections before July.
Le Pen said pressure on President Emmanuel Macron was mounting after lawmakers passed a motion against Barnier – but she would not call for his resignation.
The far-right leader said Macrion would have to meet certain conditions to get her party’s support to become the next prime minister.
Before the fall of the French government, Le Pen said in parliament: “We have arrived at the moment of truth.”
However, France’s hard left has called on Macron to resign.
Mathilde Panot, the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party which took part in proposing the confidence vote, said: “We are now calling on Macron to go.”
Macron, who has just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, ruled out resigning himself, saying: “The French elected me twice and my priority is stability.”
Vowing to remain president until 2027 – when his second term ends – Macron said he would stay “until the last second, to be useful to the country”.
Far-right opponents expressed some support for Mr Macron on Wednesday, with the president of the National Assembly, Jordan Bardella, saying he “respects the institutions” and that “there is no justification at this moment for the president of the Republic to leave”.
Unbowed’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was happy the “inevitable censorship” had passed.
He added: “Even with Barnier every three months, Macron will not last three years.”
Defiant MP Eric Coquerel told Barnier today: “You will be the first prime minister to be censured since Georges Pompidou in 1962.”
He said the majority of French citizens supported the no-confidence motion and argued that Barnier, who was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in September, lacked legitimacy from the start.
In a TV interview on Tuesday, Barnier said he still believed his government could survive the vote.
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This photo shows the result of a vote of confidence in the administration of Prime Minister Michel Barnier shown on a screen in the National Assembly in ParisCredit: AFP
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French Prime Minister Michel Barnier gestures after the results of a vote of confidence in his administrationCredit: AFP
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President of the Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group Marine Le Pen (CL) listens to a speech by the French Prime Minister during a vote of confidence in his government in the National AssemblyCredit: EPA
But the head of the far-right National Assembly (RN) Jordan Bardella strongly condemned his optimism, saying it showed the government was “completely out of touch with what is happening in the country”.
He told France Inter radio: “This government is dangerous for my country.
“We will vote of no confidence.”
Senior left-wing MPs have also confirmed that their camp will vote to oust Barnier.
Barnier’s interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, was dejected.
He told CNews: “Nothing is done until the vote, but we see that we are moving towards censorship (of the government).”
Macron, who won a second term in 2022, precipitated the crisis by calling early parliamentary elections in June.
His term as president runs until mid-2027 and parliament cannot oust him, but the RN and the hard left are already saying he should resign as he faces the biggest crisis since the Yellow Vest popular unrest of 2018-2019.
Since Macron called the election, France’s CAC 40 has fallen nearly 10 percent and is the biggest loser among the EU’s leading economies.
The single currency fell almost 4 percent.
Barnier said the consequences of his vote would be catastrophic for state finances, but RN MP Laura Lavalette told TF1 TV: “There is no reason for this to lead to great chaos.
“Don’t play with your fears… not everything will come crashing down.”
The vote of no confidence in Barnier pushes France into a period of political paralysis, and many predict economic disaster as well.
French bonds and stocks are already selling off at an alarming rate, and borrowing costs are rising.
What happens now that the no confidence vote has succeeded and the government has fallen?
ALTHOUGH the no-confidence vote has passed, it is unlikely that Prime Minister Michel Barnier will be removed from office immediately.
He is likely to remain in the position of interim leader until Macron announces a new government with a new prime minister.
Any new government is unlikely to be a majority as no party is close to the 289 threshold required.
Instead, a “technocratic” government would be formed – and the new prime minister would have very little real power until the next election in the summer of 2025.
Macron was already in a weak position after the summer elections in France, which forced him to partner with the political right.
Its last prime minister, Gabriel Attal, also led a caretaker government and regularly had to use the constitutional tool to enforce the law.
This chaotic period has seriously damaged Macron’s credibility as president.
A successful vote of no confidence in Barnier will certainly make Macron less effective as president – and his popularity could drop even further.
The next presidential election is in 2027, so Macron will remain in his seat until then – if he survives.
Macron is under no obligation to resign from his post now that the parliament has passed a vote of no confidence.
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The president of the national parliamentary group Rassemblement Marine Le Pen speaks during the debateCredit: AFP
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French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, president of the National AssemblyCredit: Reuters
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