French Parliament voted 364–194 to dismiss PM Bayrou over proposed €44 billion cuts aimed at reducing the country’s debt crisis.
Macron must now appoint a new prime minister amid a fragmented Parliament and rising domestic and international pressures.
Both left and far-right leaders call for Macron’s resignation, warning that forming a stable government remains a steep challenge.
Hours after French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou warned that the country was facing a “life-threatening” debt, he lost the confidence vote passed in Parliament. This has deepened the country's political crisis, as President Emmanuel Macron must find a fifth prime minister in less than two years.
According to his office, Bayrou, who has been in office for nine months, will submit his resignation on Tuesday. A new appointment will be made "in the coming days," according to Macron's office.
The Bayrou-led government was overthrown by the National Assembly on Monday due to its proposals to cut roughly 44 billion euros ($52 billion) in order to lower the nation's debt. Bayrou had bet his leadership on getting parliamentary approval for a budget plan that sought to reduce a debt load of 114 per cent of GDP and a deficit nearly double the EU's three per cent ceiling.
News Agencies reported that since the head of state was initially elected in 2017, the 74-year-old politician has served as President Macron's sixth prime minister. At a time when he is spearheading diplomatic efforts regarding the conflict in Ukraine, his removal would give Macron yet another domestic difficulty.
Before the vote, Bayrou warned lawmakers: “You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality. Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly.”
However, with 364 votes against him and only 194 in favor, Parliament denied his appeal.
According to the BBC, the hard-left France Unbowed leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, wrote on X: "Macron is now facing the people on the front line. He has to leave, too. In the 577-seat Parliament, the left bloc has a majority, but not enough to form a government on its own.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen also called for a snap election: “This moment marks the end of the agony of a phantom government.”
Bayrou is expected to submit his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday morning.
Macron has the option to name a member of the conservative party or his own centrist minority ruling group as the next premier, but doing so would require him to intensify a policy that hasn't produced a durable coalition.
He could pick a technocrat or take a more left-leaning approach and nominate a moderate socialist. It seems unlikely that any of the scenarios would result in a parliamentary majority for the future government.
