Paris – French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was meeting Emmanuel Macron on Thursday to submit his resignation after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament, with the president urgently demanding ways to stop the growing political and financial chaos. On his way to becoming the shortest-serving Prime Minister of contemporary France, Barnier arrived at the Elysee Palace just after 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern) for the formality of his resignation, the outgoing Prime Minister and government constitutionally defeated in Parliament. After this he was forced to step down.
A majority of lawmakers on Wednesday supported the no-confidence vote, proposed by the hard-left and supported by the far-right led by Marine Le Pen.
Barnier's record-quick removal comes after snap parliamentary Elections were held this summer resulting in a hung parliament.No political force is able to form an overall majority and the key to the government's survival lies with the far right.
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The reason for Barnier's expulsion was his 2025 budget plan which contained austerity measures that were unacceptable to the majority in Parliament, but which he argued were necessary to stabilize France's finances. On Monday, he got the Social Security Financing Bill passed without a vote.
The successful no-confidence motion canceled the government's entire financing plan, leading to an automatic renewal of the current budget for the next year unless a new government could somehow hurry up approving a new budget by Christmas – An unexpected scenario.
“France will probably not have a budget until 2025,” ING Economics said in a note, predicting that the country is “entering a new era of political instability.”
Rating agency Moody's warned that Barnier's downfall “deepens the country's political impasse” and “reduces the prospects for the integration of public finances.”
The Paris Stock Exchange fell to show modest gains early on Thursday, while yields on French government bonds were again under upward pressure in debt markets.
Macron now faces the unenviable task of choosing a viable successor. The president was scheduled to address the nation on Thursday evening, his office said. There are more than two years left in Macron's presidential term, but some opponents are also calling on him to resign.
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National Assembly President Yael Brun-Pivat on Thursday urged Macron not to waste any time in choosing a new prime minister, saying France could not be allowed to “drift” for any length of time.
There was no indication early Thursday how soon Macron would appoint Barnier's successor, nor what his political leanings would be.
Loyalist Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Macron's centrist ally François Bayrou have been seen as potential contenders, as has former Socialist prime minister and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
Backed by the far right, a majority of 331 MPs in the 577-member House voted to oust the government on Wednesday night. This was the first successful no-confidence vote since the defeat of the government of Georges Pompidou in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
Macron flew back to Paris just before the vote after completing a three-day state visit to Saudi Arabia, a world away from the domestic crisis.
“We are now asking Macron to go,” Mathilde Panot, head of the parliamentary faction of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, told reporters. He urged “early presidential elections” to resolve the deepening political crisis.
But taking care not to worry over the collapse of the government, Le Pen said in a television interview that her party – once a new prime minister is appointed – would “let them work” and deliver a “budget that is fair to everyone.” will help in making the
Laurent Vauquiz, head of right-wing representatives in parliament, said the far-right and hard-left had taken responsibility for the no-confidence vote.
Barnier is the fifth prime minister to serve under Macron since he came to power in 2017, with each prime minister having served for successively shorter periods.
Given the structure of the National Assembly, there is no guarantee that Barnier's successor will last longer.
Strike calls in transport, education and other public sector services continued on Thursday despite the missing austerity budget that has fueled so much anger.
comes before plunging into more uncertainty Reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral A major international event hosted by Macron on Saturday following the 2019 fire.
Guests include Donald Trump, who will make his first foreign trip Since being re-elected as US President for a second term.