France plunged into political turmoil on Wednesday as Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government fell to a no-confidence vote, marking the shortest prime ministerial tenure in the modern history of this country.
The far-right National Rally and the left-wing New Popular Front alliance united to oust Barnier after his government attempted to push through an austere budget aimed at curbing France’s soaring deficit.
MPs voted decisively to pass the no-confidence motion against Michel Barnier, just three months after he was appointed prime minister by President Emmanuel Macron.
The motion, tabled by opposition parties, came in response to Barnier’s controversial use of special powers to bypass parliamentary approval for his austerity budget. It is the first time a French government has been toppled by a no-confidence vote since 1962.
Wednesday’s vote required 288 MPs to support the motion for it to pass. In the end, 331 MPs voted in favor.
The unprecedented collapse has raised alarms over the stability of the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
Three sources told Reuters that President of France Emmanuel Macron aimed to install a new prime minister swiftly, with one saying he wanted to name a premier before a ceremony to reopen the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Saturday.
Any new prime minister would face the same challenges as Barnier in getting bills, including the 2025 budget, adopted by a divided parliament.
There can be no new parliamentary election before July.
Alternatively, Macron could ask Barnier and his ministers to stay on in a caretaker capacity while he takes time to identify a prime minister able to attract sufficient cross-party support to pass legislation.
France’s National Assembly on Wednesday is set to debate two no-confidence Wednesday certain to oust the fragile coalition of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. This comes after Barnier decided to overstep parliament to pass the social security budget.
France’s minority government is on the verge of collapse. It's after Prime Minister Michel Barnier pushed through the 2025 budget without a parliamentary vote and a no confidence vote looks likely on Wednesday.
The French government is all but certain to collapse later this week after far-right and left-wing parties submitted no-confidence motions on Monday against Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
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Barnier will leave office having served the shortest prime ministerial term in modern French history
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Barnier will leave office having served the shortest prime ministerial term in modern French history
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared that ties between Armenia and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) have crossed the "point of no return"
Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance unit, was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel. The incident remains under investigation, with no arrests yet made.
Does the aging process speed up in space? Oxford's Space Innovation Lab has sent human tissue samples to the International Space Station to investigate how microgravity might affect the aging process, potentially leading to breakthroughs in age-related diseases
The race for humanoid robots heats up, as companies like Tesla and 1X push forward with AI-powered machines. One of the latest contenders, 1X’s NEO, promises to to assist with everything from cleaning to companionship.
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