French Government Collapses After PM Bayrou Ousted in Confidence Vote

France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has lost a confidence vote in Parliament, hours after warning that the country was facing “life-threatening” debt, deepening a political crisis and handing President Emmanuel Macron the task of finding a fifth prime minister in less than two years.

The defeat – by 364 votes to 194 – means that Bayrou who has been in office for nine months, will today present his government's resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who must now decide how to replace him. 

Macron's office said this would happen "in the coming days".

The options include naming a new prime minister from the centre-right; pivoting to the left and finding a name compatible with the Socialist Party; and dissolving parliament so new elections are held.

The National Assembly voted on Monday to bring down the Bayrou-led government over its plans to cut about 44 billion euros to reduce the country’s debt. 

Bayrou had staked his leadership on securing parliamentary approval for a budget plan that aimed to slash a deficit almost double the European Union’s three percent ceiling and a debt load worth 114 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The 74-year-old leader is the sixth prime minister under President Macron since the head of state was first elected in 2017. 

His ousting would leave Macron with a new domestic headache at a time when he is leading diplomatic efforts on the Ukraine war.

In his speech beforehand, Bayrou made clear that he had his eyes set more on history rather than politics, telling MPs that it was future generations who would suffer if France lost its financial independence.

He said that submission to debt is the same as submission to arms, warning that current debt levels meant "plunging young people into slavery".

He added, "You may have the power to bring down the government. But you cannot efface reality".

Meanwhile, Macron's bitter enemies in the far-left France Unbowed party are calling for him personally to resign, but few commentators think it likely.

France is thus on its way to getting a fifth prime minister in less than two years - a dismal record that underscores the drift and disenchantment that have marked the president's second term.

Source: Al Jazeera | BBC | Reuters