French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is set to resign on Thursday following an unprecedented no-confidence vote that brought down his government after just three months in office, marking the first such parliamentary defeat in over 60 years.
The motion passed with 331 votes, well above the required 288, as opposition parties united against Barnier’s controversial use of special powers to push through his budget without parliamentary approval. The budget plan, which included €60 billion in deficit reduction measures, has now been automatically withdrawn.
The vote brought together unlikely allies, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally joining forces with the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP). Le Pen called the budget “toxic for the French,” while Barnier defended his proposals before the National Assembly.
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“We have reached a moment of truth, of responsibility,” Barnier told lawmakers. “I did not present almost exclusively difficult measures because I wanted to.”
President Emmanuel Macron, who recently returned from a state visit to Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to address the nation in a televised speech on Thursday. While Macron’s position is constitutionally protected from the no-confidence vote, opposition figures are increasingly vocal about forcing his resignation and calling early presidential elections, which Macron has ruled out.
The political crisis highlights the ongoing parliamentary deadlock since no group holds a working majority. New elections cannot be held until July, suggesting continued political uncertainty. Barnier is expected to serve as caretaker prime minister while Macron selects a successor, a process that could take weeks.
While Le Pen told French broadcaster TF1, “I am not asking for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron,” her allies have been more direct in their criticism. RN adviser Philippe Olivier describing the president as “a fallen republican monarch” in comments to Le Monde.
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