The government in France has collapsed yet again, and current President Emmanuel Macron will choose the country’s fifth prime minister in less than two years. Francois Bayrou, the current Prime Minister, lost a vote of confidence on Monday, as 364 members of parliament voted to remove him from office. He only managed to secure the support of 194 members to retain his government. Bayrou is expected to officially resign in a matter of days.
According to reports, the nation’s path forward from this point is unclear. The appointment of a new prime minister would leave them in essentially the same composition as their current government, along with the challenges of navigating a minority government.
All of this governmental instability comes at a crucial time for Macron, who has been working toward consolidating European powers behind Ukraine as Russia continues to advance in the eastern parts of the country.
One potential option available to the French president is to call a snap election to change the makeup of Parliament; however, recent poll results suggest that this move would result in a similar outcome, essentially changing nothing, according to Just the News.
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Another path Macron could take would be to step down from his current position; however, given the statements he has made in the past, this seems unlikely.
Reports from the BBC suggest that the current French governmental crisis originated from a risky decision made by Macron in June 2024. With his party taking a beating in the European Parliament vote, he called for a snap election, hoping to achieve a “clear majority in serenity and harmony.”
The plan backfired.
Instead of getting “serenity and harmony,” parliament ended up divided, making it difficult for the prime minister to pull together the necessary support to get legislation passed, including the yearly budget.
Macron then appointed Michael Barnier last September, but he only lasted three months before being booted, marking his time in the position as the shortest since the beginning of France’s post-war Fifth Republic.
And now Bayrou is sharing Barnier’s fate.
What made Bayrou so unpopular among members of Parliament was the debt crisis France faces. He wanted to slash spending to prevent a future catastrophe that would impact future generations. The majority clearly did not agree with this course of action.
Instead of looking toward the future and ensuring generations yet to come do not get saddled with crushing debt, left-wing politicians in parliament have called for a hike in taxes rather than a slash in spending.
