French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to resign on Friday after far-right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple his government, plunging France into its second major political crisis in six months.
Barnier, a veteran politician who was formerly the European Union's Brexit negotiator, will be the shortest serving prime minister in modern French history. No French government had lost a confidence vote since Georges Pompidou's in 1962.
The hard left and far right punished Barnier for ramming an unpopular budget through an unruly hung parliament without a vote. The draft budget had sought 60 billion euros ($63.07 billion) in savings in a drive to shrink a gaping deficit.
Barnier's resignation will cap weeks of tensions over the budget, which Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally said was too harsh on working people. It also further weakens the standing of President Emmanuel Macron, who precipitated the current crisis with an ill-fated decision to call a snap election ahead of the summer Paris Olympics.
Macron faces growing calls to resign, but he has a mandate until 2027 and cannot be pushed out. Still, the long-running political debacle has left him a diminished figure.
France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution allows special measures that would avert a U.S.-style government shutdown.
France's political turmoil will further weaken a European Union already reeling from the implosion of Germany's coalition government, and weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Trump is due to visit Paris on Saturday for the unveiling of the renovated Notre Dame cathedral, and Macron wants to name a prime minister before then, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
France now faces a period of deep political uncertainty that is already unnerving investors in French sovereign bonds and stocks. Earlier this week, France's borrowing costs briefly exceeded those of Greece, generally considered far more risky.
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.
The upcoming meeting in Miami will include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and Donald Tr...
Iran’s renewed call for international burden sharing in hosting Afghan refugees has revived a familiar narrative - that refugees are an economic str...
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the arrival of the first rail shipment of Azerbaijani petrol on Friday, calling the delivery — the...
The World Bank has approved $700 million in new financing to support Pakistan’s efforts to stabilise its economy and strengthen public service deliv...
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi has described playing the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil as a “positive responsibility”, as the Atlas Lions prep...
French senators have approved the 2026 budget bill, but with amendments that are expected to worsen the fiscal deficit more than initially planned.
French senators on Monday approved a revised 2026 budget bill that the government warned could worsen the country’s fiscal deficit, setting the stage for tense negotiations between parliament’s two chambers later this week.
France has called on the European Union to postpone a planned vote on the long-negotiated trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc, citing insufficient safeguards for European farmers.
Farmers in France staged protests on Saturday (13 December) over the culling of cattle linked to an outbreak of nodular dermatitis, commonly known as lumpy skin disease (LSD).
Ukraine has welcomed the European Union’s decision to provide €90 billion in support over the next two years, calling it a vital lifeline even as the bloc failed to reach agreement on using frozen Russian assets to finance the aid.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets on Thursday evening to protest against the outgoing government, demanding fair elections and judicial reforms to address what they describe as widespread corruption.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Poland on Thursday following a summit of the European Council in Brussels.
Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight Committee have released another batch of photographs from the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a day before the Justice Department is due to publish the full “Epstein files” under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The United States has suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery programme, commonly known as the Green Card lottery, after a deadly shooting at Brown University.
Senior representatives from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye have held talks in Miami to assess progress on the Gaza ceasefire and lay the groundwork for its next phase, according to a statement issued by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has risen to 161, after forensic analysis confirmed one more victim among the charred remains at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, more than three weeks after the blaze began, authorities said on Saturday.
The United States has seized an oil tanker last docked in Venezuela, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Saturday.
The upcoming meeting in Miami will include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the Trump administration seeks to mediate between the warring sides.
The World Bank has approved $700 million in new financing to support Pakistan’s efforts to stabilise its economy and strengthen public service delivery, marking a significant boost to the country’s reform agenda.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment