French government collapses as Prime Minister Michel Barnier loses no-confidence vote

The French government has collapsed after Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a vote of no confidence.

It follows his decision to use special powers to force a social security budget through the lower house of parliament without a final vote after a last-minute concession was not enough to win support from the far-right National Rally (RN).

In the end far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined forces to back a no-confidence motion in Mr Barnier and his government. The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed.

The outcome marks the first time a French government has lost a confidence vote since 1962.

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Mr Barnier, formerly the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is expected to tender his resignation and that of his government to President Emmanuel Macron shortly.

The 73-year-old was appointed in September and will become the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic.

Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally party, said after the vote that she is not calling for Mr Macron’s resignation but “pressure is piling up”.

Mr Macron, on his way back from a presidential visit to Saudi Arabia, said discussions about him potentially resigning were “make-believe politics”, according to French media reports.

He is due to address the people of France tomorrow evening following the result of the no confidence vote.

The outcome means he will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time after July’s legislative elections led to a deeply-divided parliament.

The National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, is fractured, with no single party holding a majority. It comprises three major blocs: Macron’s centrist allies; the left-wing coalition New Popular Front; and the far-right National Rally.

The escalating political crisis in France has threatened to send the eurozone’s second-biggest economy into uncertain territory.

It comes at a time of tension in Europe, with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House and the war in Ukraine continuing to drag on.

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Analysis: Barnier’s rivals smelled blood and rounded on him

Dominic Waghorn

International affairs editor

@DominicWaghorn

He was meant to be the man to dig Emmanuel Macron out of a hole.

The skilled negotiator who ran rings around the British during the interminable Brexit negotiations.

Michel Barnier’s short-lived spell in power began with some promise. The far-right French leader Marine Le Pen said he was someone she could do business with, but the honeymoon was short-lived.

Mr Barnier’s rivals smelled blood and rounded on him. They rejected attempts to bring pragmatism to the task of resolving France’s mounting fiscal crisis. In frustration, he tried to ram his plan through parliament, triggering a vote of no confidence.

He has now paid the price after a long illustrious career in French politics and has become the first prime minister to lose such a vote since 1962. The hole he was meant to extricate his master from has only deepened.

His former British antagonists in the Brexit negotiations may have a feeling of schadenfreude, others may be more sympathetic.

His master, President Macron, must now find someone else to take on the job, which could be seen as a poisoned chalice. They will find it equally challenging trying to resolve the impasse.

France spends far more than it brings in through revenues, and that deficit is unsustainable, says the European Union. But the longer this instability goes on, the cost of borrowing for the French state could only increase, potentially leading to a spiralling crisis.

And the fate of the country’s president is central to all this. Emmanuel Macron says he will stay in the job until 2027 and his office is vested with great executive powers under the constitution of the Fifth Republic.

The more he wields them though, the more his enemies will make the charge he is acting undemocratically. That may ease the far right’s accession to power should he end up being forced to resign. There is a huge amount at stake.

Why did the vote take place?

The vote of no confidence in Mr Barnier rose from fierce opposition to his proposed budget for 2025.

This week, he decided to use special powers to push through his budget, having failed to receive support from MPs.

That decision angered the National Rally party and the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), both of which tabled no-confidence motions in him.

France is struggling to tame a massive budget deficit which is projected to exceed 6% of national output this year.

Mr Barnier’s budget had sought to cut the fiscal deficit with €60bn (£49.7bn) in tax hikes and spending cuts.

It aimed to cut the deficit down to 5% next year.

France under pressure from EU

In his final speech before the vote, Mr Barnier said: “As this mission may soon come to an end, I can tell you that it will remain an honour for me to have served France and the French with dignity.

“This no-confidence motion… will make everything more serious and more difficult. That’s what I’m sure of.”

France is under pressure from the European Union to reduce its colossal debt.

The country’s deficit is estimated to rise to 7% next year without drastic adjustments.

The political instability could push up French interest rates, deepening the debt even further.