French president Emmanuel Macron has announced he will name a new prime minister in the coming days to replace the ousted Michel Barnier as the French premier refused to heed calls for his own resignation.
In a 10-minute address to the nation, Mr Macron accused the extreme left and right, who shockingly combined to pass a vote of no confidence in Mr Barnier on Wednesday, of thinking only about themselves, and not the voters.
Earlier, he had described the two parties, which include the far-right National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, and the far-left France Unbowed party, as a “coalition of the irresponsible”.
The president said the parties had united in what he called “an anti-Republican front” and added: “I won't shoulder other people's irresponsibility”.
He accused the groups of creating “chaos” before Christmas in the hope of pushing for a new presidential election, and stated that he would not resign but see out his term until its natural end in 2027. He later reaffirmed his commitment to make France “stronger” and “fairer”.
“I know some people want to point the finger at me,” he said. “It is a lot easier to do that. I have always accepted my responsibilities.
“The mandate you have given me is for five years and I will exercise it until the very end.”
Mr Barnier, a veteran conservative whom Mr Macron appointed prime minister barely three months ago, became the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history after he failed to find enough support for a budget aimed at taming a wide deficit.
The Elysee Palace said Mr Macron had asked Mr Barnier and his government to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
Though Mr Macron took months to appoint Mr Barnier earlier this year, it has been reported that the French president wants to find a new appointment before a ceremony on Saturday to reopen Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been renovated after a devastating fire.
US president-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend along with many world leaders.
Allies in Mr Macron’s own camp joined the chorus urging swift action. After the snap elections in late June and early July, it took Mr Macron nearly two months to appoint Mr Barnier.
“I recommend that he proceed quickly to the appointment of a prime minister, it’s important, we must not leave things up in the air,” National Assembly president Yael Braun-Pivet told France Inter radio before meeting Mr Macron at around noon.
France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution allows for special measures that would avert a US-style government shutdown.
The political turmoil in France further weakens the European Union, which is already reeling from the implosion of Germany’s coalition government, and comes just weeks before Mr Trump returns to the White House.
It also diminishes Mr Macron, who precipitated the crisis with an ill-fated decision to call a snap election in June that gave rise to the country’s polarised parliament.
The president had lunch with Francois Bayrou, whose name has been mentioned by French media as a possible successor to Mr Barnier, Le Parisien newspaper reported.
Mr Macron’s own mandate runs until May 2027 and he has so far shown no sign of bowing to opposition calls to resign, though a Toluna Harris Interactive poll for the RTL broadcaster showed 64 per cent of voters now want the president to step down.
“The main culprit for the current situation is Emmanuel Macron,” Marine Le Pen, of the far-right RN told TF1 TV.
A French president cannot be pushed out unless two thirds of politicians decide he has gravely failed to fulfil his role, according to an article of the constitution that has never been invoked.
The new prime minister will face the same challenges in dealing with a fractured parliament, notably in passing a 2025 budget at a time when France needs to rein in its public finances.
Under French constitutional rules, there can be no new parliamentary election before July.
