French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to accept the resignation of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou yesterday after his government was ejected in a confidence vote, with Macron rushing to find a successor and stave off a new political crisis.
On Monday, Bayrou lost a confidence vote he had himself called, plunging France into fresh uncertainty and leaving Macron with the task of finding the seventh premier of his mandate.
The French president in a statement said that he “took note” of the outcome and would name a new prime minister “in the next days,” ending any remaining speculation that the president could instead call snap elections.
Photo: AFP
Macron said he was to meet Bayrou yesterday “to accept the resignation of his government.”
Precisely when the new prime minister could be named remains unclear, with a source close to Macron saying an appointment as early as yesterday was possible, and a presidential address also not ruled out.
Bayrou had blindsided even his allies by calling a confidence vote to end a lengthy standoff over his austerity budget, which foresaw almost 44 billion euros (US$51.78 billion) of cost savings to reduce France’s debt pile.
In the vote in the French National Assembly, 364 deputies voted that they had no confidence in the government while just 194 gave it their confidence.
“In line with article 50 of the constitution, the prime minister must submit the resignation of his government,” French National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet said.
Bayrou was the sixth prime minister under Macron since his 2017 election, but the fifth since 2022. Macron “will move rapidly to replace Bayrou,” said the Eurasia Group risk analysis firm.
“Macron, who usually prefers to take his time, hopes to announce a new prime minister this week to head off a full-scale market and constitutional crisis,” it said.
Macron, who has been leading diplomatic efforts internationally to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, now faces one of the most critical domestic decisions of his presidency over who to appoint as premier.
The Socialist Party (PS) has expressed readiness to lead a new government, but it is far from clear whether such an administration led by a figure such as PS leader Olivier Faure could survive.
“I think it’s time for the left to govern this country again and make sure we can break with the policies of the last eight years,” Faure told TF1 television.
Heavyweight right-wing Cabinet ministers, such as French Minister of Justice Gerald Darmanin, are trusted by Macron, but risk being voted out by the left.
Lower-profile options who could find a center-left consensus include French Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families Catherine Vautrin or Minister of Economics and Finance Eric Lombard.
According to a poll by Odoxa-Backbone for Le Figaro newspaper, 64 percent of French want Macron to resign rather than name a new prime minister, a move he has ruled out.
He is forbidden from standing for a third term in 2027.
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