Historic fall of French government; bleak outlook for EU’s second-largest economy.
The French parliament voted overwhelmingly in a no-confidence vote against right-wing Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Wednesday evening, just three months after President Emmanuel Macron appointed him.
Barnier’s government needed 288 votes of confidence to pass, but in the 577-seat parliament, it received 331 votes of no confidence from both the right and the left. According to a statement from the Elysee Palace, Barnier, and his government will run the country’s day-to-day affairs as an interim government until a new government is appointed, during which Macron must present another prime minister to parliament. Under the French constitution, the interim government is only allowed to manage “current affairs” and faces limitations on its powers.
As for why the no-confidence vote was called, it comes amid a deadlock over a draft austerity budget that seeks to save €60 billion through spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the country’s budget deficit.
A few days before the no-confidence vote, Barnier had decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the constitution to pass a social security budget bill. This constitutional provision allows the government to pass legislation without parliamentary approval and allows lawmakers to challenge the decision by submitting a no-confidence motion.
Overall, Barnier’s government is the shortest-lived in the history of the Fifth Republic, which was founded in 1958. It is also the first to fall on a no-confidence vote since 1962.