French Prime Minister, François Bayrou, is expected to be removed from office following a confidence vote in the National Assembly on Monday afternoon, plunging the eurozone’s second-largest economy into renewed political turmoil.
The 74-year-old centrist, who has led a minority government for just nine months, faces near-certain defeat as opposition parties from across the political spectrum have declared their intention to vote against him.
France President Emmanuel Macron, who retains authority over foreign policy and national security, will then be tasked with appointing his third prime minister in the space of a year, and the fifth since the start of his second term in 2022. However, the fragmented nature of the National Assembly, divided into left, centre, and far-right blocs with no clear majority, has created a legislative deadlock that threatens the stability of any future government.
Macron, who last year called a snap parliamentary election that produced the current impasse, has expressed reluctance to call another vote. Nonetheless, the absence of a workable majority means any new prime minister could face a similarly swift dismissal.
Bayrou stunned even his own centrist allies by initiating the confidence vote, insisting he required parliamentary backing for a controversial austerity package aimed at reducing France’s public debt. His proposed €44bn (£38bn) budget squeeze includes scrapping two public holidays and freezing most welfare spending measures that have drawn criticism from all sides.
He is due to address parliament on Monday afternoon, outlining his rationale and offering his assessment of the nation’s fiscal health. His speech will be followed by statements from parliamentary group leaders before lawmakers cast their votes.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally parliamentary group, confirmed her party would vote against Bayrou. Speaking on Sunday, she said: “This crisis was provoked and fuelled by President Emmanuel Macron and all those who have served him. Today, because of them, France is the sick man of Europe.”
Le Pen, who was convicted in March of embezzling European parliamentary funds through a fraudulent jobs scheme and banned from seeking office for five years, is expected to learn the date of her appeal trial on Monday.
Left-wing lawmakers, whose bloc won the most seats in last year’s election but fell short of a majority, have urged Macron to appoint a prime minister from their ranks. Bayrou would be the second head of government to fall since the snap election, following the ousting of right-wing Michel Barnier after just three months in December.
Marine Tondelier, leader of the Green Party, told broadcaster BFM on Saturday: “[Macron] can’t go against the results of the polls a third time,” arguing that a left-wing appointment was the only viable path forward.
However, Bruno Retailleau, the right-wing Interior Minister and head of Les Républicains rejected the idea outright. “There is no way we will accept a socialist prime minister,” he said at a party meeting on Sunday.
The outcome of Monday’s vote is likely to determine the trajectory of Macron’s presidency and the future direction of French domestic policy.
