French flag under l'Arc de Triomphe / Envato
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
PARIS (Worthy News) – French Prime Minister François Bayrou, 74, was to step down after losing a confidence vote on Monday over a controversial 44 billion euros (about $51.5 billion) austerity package, bringing his government to an end after only nine months.
The confidence motion was defeated by 364 votes to 194 in the National Assembly. It marks only the third time since the 1958 start of France’s Fifth Republic that a prime minister has been toppled by parliament. The previous cases occurred in 1962, when Prime Minister Georges Pompidou was ousted but quickly reinstated by President Charles de Gaulle, and in 1968, when Prime Minister Georges Pompidou again lost the assembly’s support during France’s student-led upheavals before being reappointed.
Bayrou, the country’s fourth prime minister in less than two years, faced mounting opposition over his plan to slash public spending and raise taxes in a bid to stabilize France’s debt-laden finances.
The package included sweeping reductions in public services and even proposals to cancel some public holidays. Supporters argued the measures were necessary to prevent France from breaching EU deficit rules, but critics warned they would deepen inequality and spark further social unrest.
The defeat piles pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, who must now nominate a successor capable of surviving in a deeply fractured parliament.
Macron, already weakened by years of political turbulence, will be forced to balance between centrist allies, a resurgent left-wing opposition, and a powerful far-right bloc led by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
Analysts warn that the political vacuum risks paralyzing decision-making in Europe’s second-largest economy, just as France faces sluggish growth, high debt, and widespread discontent over the cost of living.
The president could attempt to appoint another compromise figure, seek to form a broader coalition, or—if no governing majority proves viable—consider dissolving parliament and calling snap elections, a move fraught with risk given current polling.
For now, Bayrou’s resignation underscores what observers describe as “one of the deepest political crises in modern French history,” leaving questions over the durability of Macron’s presidency and France’s role in a turbulent European Union.
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