Prime Minister Fails Confidence Vote, Triggering Political Collapse of France’s Ruling Coalition

Prime Minister François Bayrou of France failed a confidence vote on Monday, leaving the European country on the potential path to economic disaster amid a deepening debt crisis.The 74-year-old centrist, who has been facing opposition from parties left to the far right, will tender his resignation on Tuesday, according to a report from France24.With 364 parliamentary members voting that they had no confidence in the government versus 194 who had given their confidence, Mr. Bayrou will fall well short of the 289 needed, triggering the automatic ouster of him and his minority government after just nine months in office.In a speech before the French parliament, Mr. Bayou seemed to already know what the outcome would be, inviting his colleagues to a “convivial moment,” or farewell party, later on Monday evening as he made his final plea to the lower house.“All the challenges facing us come down to one essential, urgent question, the one on which our future, our state, our independence, our public services and social model depend — that is the question of controlling our spending and our excessive debt,” he said to a packed house.“Domination by military force, or domination by our creditors as a result of debts that drown us, produces the same result: The loss of our liberty,” he added while the crowd chanted back, “It’s not the same thing.” President Emmanuel Macron is likely to appoint his third prime minister in the past year and the fifth since his second term began in 2022. He could also dissolve parliament and call for new national assembly elections.“This crisis was provoked and fueled by President Emmanuel Macron and all those who have served him,” the head of the National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, who is barred from political candidacy for five years, said Sunday. “Today, because of them, France is the sick man of Europe.”France’s prime minister is appointed by the president to manage domestic affairs while the president focuses on foreign policy and national security. Since Mr. Macron called snap parliamentary elections last year, the national assembly has been deadlocked after splitting into three blocs — left, center, and right — with no party holding an absolute majority. The result has been political gridlock and a series of budget disputes.The longtime ally of Mr. Macron has struggled to gain support for a $51 billion austerity program focused on reducing France’s public debt. His proposals for the country’s budget included eliminating two public holidays and freezing most welfare spending, which has faced opposition across the political spectrum.Politicians on the left, which won the most seats in last year’s parliamentary elections but fell short of an absolute majority, are calling for Mr. Macron to appoint a leftist prime minister.Mr. Macron “can’t go against the results of the polls a third time,” the Green Party’s chief, Marine Tondelier, said Saturday in an interview on France’s leading 24-hour news channel, BFMTV.

Prime Minister Fails Confidence Vote, Triggering Political Collapse of France’s Ruling Coalition

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