French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to resign on Thursday, the day after his government was formed first to draw with no confidence in the vow more than 60 years and just three months after he took office – an ouster record.
President Barnier is due for the present Emmanuel Macron with his government’s resignation on Thursday morning. The President addressed the nation on Thursday evening at the Elysée.
“I cannot say that it will remain an honor to serve me France and the French with dignity,” Barnier said in his final speech before the vote. “There is no confidence in the movement … it will make everything worse and more difficult. That’s what I’m sure about.”
Barnier’s defense comes after the parliamentary elections were broken this summer, which the outcome of the suspension of the council with no party having an overall majority and the far right holding the key to government survival.
Macron has the unenviable task of choosing a viable successor, with his two-year term as president left behind, with some — though not all — opponents calling for his resignation. The reduced parliament remains unchanged as no new legislative elections can be held until at least July.
The no-confidence motion, which brought about a difficult left in the National Assembly, comes amid a post-austerity budget for next year, after the prime minister was forced through the social security bill on Monday without a vote.
With the greatest support of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Party, a majority of 331 MPs in the 577-member chamber voted to oust the government.
Speaking on TF1 television after the vote, the leader of the National Socialists, Marine Le Pen, said “we had to make a choice and our choice to protect the French” from a “toxic” budget. Macron also accused Le Pen of being “mainly responsible for the current situation”, adding that “the pressure on the President of the Republic will be stronger and stronger”.
The first vote of no confidence was successful since the defeat for Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
Macron flew back to Paris just before the vote wrapped up after a three-day state visit to Saudi Arabia, which appears to be a world away from the domestic crisis. Earlier on Wednesday he walked through the deserted sands of the Al-Ula oasis, marveling at the ancient landmarks. Landing in Paris, he went straight to the Elysee Palace.
“We are now calling on Macron to,” Mathilde Panot, head of the hard-left parliamentary party of France’s Unbowed (LFI) party, told reporters, “the first presidential election” urged to resolve the political crisis deeper.
Wary of risking the collapse of the government, Le Pen said in a televised interview that her party – once a new prime minister is installed – will “work” and help create a “provision acceptable to all”.
But in an editorial, Le Monde said Le Pen was overthrowing his supporters, such as retirees and business leaders, to liquefy the government.
“In the space of a few minutes, the policy of the organization which he had consistently pursued was shaken,” he said.
Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the right-wing delegation in parliament, said the right and the hard left bore responsibility for the no-confidence vote that would “plunge the country into instability”.
There are few candidates for the office of prime minister, but defense minister Sebastien Lecornu and Macron’s centrist ally Francois Bayrou are possible contenders.
On the left, Macron could turn to former Socialist PM and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, a contender in September.
Barnier was the fifth prime minister since Macron came to power in 2017, serving for a shorter time each time. Given the clouded data, the new nominee risks an even shorter term than Barnier, whose tenure was the shortest of any administration since the Fifth Republic began in 1958.
Macron may quickly appoint a new prime minister, several sources told AFP. A source close to Macron said the president, who has taken the time of the past appointments, “no choice” but to do so within 24 hours.
Macron calls to resign.
With the markets nervous and France looking to the public-sector sector, the threat of action that will close schools and disrupt trade is growing, and there is a growing sense of crisis.
Civil servant unions, including employers and air traffic controllers, called on Thursday to strike on individual cost-cutting measures.
“His failure” ran on the front page of the daily Liberation, with a picture of Macron, whose term runs until 2027.
Meanwhile, the president is hosting a major international event on Saturday with the renovation of Notre Dame Cathedral after the 2019 fire with guests including Donald Trump on his first foreign trip since it was renovated.
Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press contributed to this report