French Government Collapses After PM Bayrou Loses Historic Confidence Vote
PARIS – In a dramatic political upheaval, the French government of Prime Minister François Bayrou fell on Monday after a motion of no confidence passed in the National Assembly, plunging President Emmanuel Macron’s presidency into a deep crisis.
The vote, which succeeded with an absolute majority, forces Mr. Bayrou to submit his resignation on Tuesday. The defeat leaves President Macron facing a stark choice: appoint a fourth prime minister in just 12 months in a desperate search for a working coalition, or dissolve parliament and call snap legislative elections that could hand power to his opponents.
The crisis was self-inflicted by the Prime Minister, who had called the vote of confidence—a high-risk gambit under Article 49.3 of the constitution—to force through an unpopular austerity budget. In an impassioned speech to lawmakers before the vote, Mr. Bayrou defended his bleak economic plan, warning that France’s massive public debt risked “enslaving our youth.”
“You can get rid of the government, but you can’t get rid of reality,” he declared. “France has not known a balanced budget for 51 years. Every year, debt accumulates.” The budget aimed to cut €45 billion (£38bn) to help reduce the deficit, but it exposed the deep deadlock in a fractured parliament unable to agree on how to balance the books of the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
The move was widely seen as a legacy-building effort by the 74-year-old centrist, with critics accusing him of orchestrating a “trial by truth” to position himself for a future presidential run. Boris Vallaud, the Socialists’ parliamentary leader, accused him of cowardice and opportunism, stating, “You will not turn your defeat into a victory. This is not an act of courage, it is a flight.”
Marine Le Pen, leader of the hard-right National Rally (RN), used the opportunity to lambast the entire political establishment and position her party as the alternative. “It is in these moments of crisis… that the small and large acts of cowardice, the shameful opportunism, the hidden connivances are revealed,” she said, pinning the nation’s woes on the parties that have historically ruled.
President Macron, a lame duck leader without control of parliament, has so far resisted calling snap elections. However, with his government now collapsed and opponents from the hard-Left to the hard-Right demanding his resignation and immediate elections, his room for maneuver has all but vanished. The search for a new prime minister will begin immediately, but with no clear coalition possible, France’s political paralysis is set to continue.