French Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a confidence vote on Monday and will resign on Tuesday, becoming the second PM to fall under Emmanuel Macron’s presidency as France struggles with its worst political crisis in years.
With 364 deputies rejecting his government and only 194 in support, Bayrou’s fate was effectively decided long before the final count.
After just nine months in office, his tenure ends with France still stuck in the parliamentary gridlock that has stymied effective governance since last year’s inconclusive elections.
France rejects Bayrou’s austerity plan
Bayrou had bet everything on his €44 billion austerity package, hoping to finally address France’s mounting debt problems.
The plan called for cuts to pensions and healthcare, along with the elimination of two public holidays, all aimed at bringing France’s deficit back within EU limits.
Instead, it had the opposite effect, rallying opposition parties across the political spectrum into rare agreement that Bayrou had to go.
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing coalition, usually bitter rivals, found themselves voting side by side.
Both sides seized the moment to oppose cuts to popular social programs, tapping into growing voter skepticism toward austerity measures.
Yet France’s fiscal problems didn’t vanish with Bayrou’s departure.
Debt now tops €3.3 trillion, which is 114% of GDP, while the budget deficit hovers at nearly twice the EU’s 3% ceiling.
The country hasn’t balanced its books since the 1970s, and financial pressures continue to mount regardless of who’s in power.
Bayrou had called this France’s “moment of truth,” warning that continued inaction on debt reduction could trigger a wider fiscal crisis.
But his political opponents weren’t persuaded, especially with street protests already planned and major unions preparing strikes next week.
Macron’s options narrow further
Macron faces increasingly limited options. He could try appointing another centrist technocrat, though the parliamentary arithmetic that doomed Bayrou remains unchanged.
Socialist leaders have indicated willingness to lead a new government, but that would require significant ideological compromises from the president.
The nuclear option remains calling snap elections, something Macron has repeatedly refused to consider.
Each collapsed government makes that choice look more inevitable, even though fresh polls might simply reproduce the current fragmented assembly.
French voters seem caught between recognizing their country’s fiscal problems and rejecting painful solutions. Polls consistently show concern about debt levels alongside strong opposition to spending cuts on popular programs.
It’s a political contradiction that’s proving impossible for any prime minister to resolve.
For Macron, who once promised to transcend traditional political divisions, the reality of governing with a hostile parliament has proved far more difficult than anticipated.
Finding a seventh prime minister willing to take on this challenge may prove his toughest task yet.
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