A political crisis erupted in France on Monday after Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a no-confidence vote in the Parliament, leading to a collapse of his government. With this, France is likely to get a fourth prime minister in just 12 months.
Bayrou, who was appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron in December last year, lost the no-confidence motion with an overwhelming majority of 364-194 vote against him.
No-confidence motion called by Bayrou
Bayrou himself had called the no-confidence motion over the economic pressure France is facing. Before the no-trust vote, he had urged the lawmakers to back his plans to curb France's debts that he said are submerging us.
In his speech at the French National Assembly, he said that the debts on France, which is Europe's second-largest economy, are threatening and will make the country vulnerable to foreign creditors.
"You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality," he had said before the no-trust vote. "Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly."
Musical chairs
Macron is paying a steep price for his stunning decision to dissolve the National Assembly in June 2024, triggering legislative elections that the French leader hoped would strengthen the hand of his pro-European centrist alliance in parliament's lower house. But the gamble backfired, producing a splintered legislature with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France's modern republic.
The political uncertainty has largely hobbled Macron's domestic ambitions in his second and last presidential term that ends in 2027. Shorn of a workable majority in parliament for his centrist alliance, Macron has since rotated through three prime ministers, attempting to build consensus and stave off government collapse.
Macron's protégé Gabriel Attal departed in September 2024, after the Paris Olympics and just eight months in the job. Attal was briefly followed by former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, a conservative who became the shortest-serving prime minister in France's modern republic when he was toppled by a no-confidence vote in December. Macron then tapped his centrist ally Bayrou, who also lost a trust vote on Monday.
(With inputs from AP)
