In a historic upheaval, French lawmakers voted on Wednesday to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government after just three months in power, deepening the country's political crisis. President Emmanuel Macron has said he will make a televised address to the nation on Thursday evening.
For the first time in over six decades, France’s parliament - the National Assembly - has ousted an incumbent government, passing a no-confidence motion initiated by the hard left and backed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right bloc.
Barnier’s swift removal follows a summer of snap parliamentary elections that left the country with a hung parliament, where the far-right’s pivotal role determined the government’s fate.
President Emmanuel Macron faces the tough task of selecting a new prime minister as over two years remain in his presidential term.
The National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion spearheaded by the hard left over next year’s austerity budget, after Prime Minister Michel Barnier bypassed a vote on a key social security bill earlier this week. Backed by the far right, 331 out of 577 lawmakers voted to topple the government.
Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet confirmed that Barnier must now "submit his resignation" to Macron and adjourned the session.
Macron, returning from a three-day state visit to Saudi Arabia just before the vote, had earlier toured Al-Ula’s ancient landmarks, far removed from France’s political turmoil. Upon arrival in Paris, he went straight to the Élysée Palace.
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On Tuesday, Macron criticised Marine Le Pen for "unbearable cynicism" in supporting the motion.
With new elections prohibited until next summer, Macron’s options are limited. Laurent Wauquiez, leader of right-wing lawmakers, accused the far left and far right of triggering a vote that "plunges the country into instability."
Crisis deepens
Some critics have called for Macron to resign, though he dismissed such suggestions as "political fiction."
Eric Coquerel, a hard-left MP, declared the motion as signaling the "death knell of Emmanuel Macron's mandate." Amid market jitters and growing unrest over proposed public-sector cutbacks, unions have announced strikes for Thursday, set to disrupt schools, air travel, and rail services.
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Macron is also set to host the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral on Saturday, attended by global figures like Donald Trump, in his first trip abroad since winning the US presidency.
Meanwhile, leftist daily Libération branded Macron’s handling of the crisis "his failure," while Le Monde warned Le Pen risked alienating her supporters - retirees and business leaders - by triggering instability.
Political stakes
Le Pen, currently facing an embezzlement trial that could disqualify her from running in 2027, may be angling to force Macron out before the end of his term. A sudden resignation would lead to elections within a month, potentially preceding her trial’s March verdict.
Macron must now quickly name a successor. Potential candidates include loyalist Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, centrist ally François Bayrou, or leftist figure Bernard Cazeneuve, a former Socialist prime minister.
This marks the first successful no-confidence motion since Georges Pompidou’s ouster in 1962 under President Charles de Gaulle. Barnier’s three-month tenure is also the shortest in the history of the Fifth Republic, established in 1958.
(With newswires)
