Michel Barnier to Step Down as France’s Briefest-Serving Prime Minister

Paris (Eurotoday) – The French prime minister, Michel Barnier, is set to resign, a day after his government was toppled by a no-confidence vote just three months after it took office.

Michel Barnier will resign as the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history. A French government has not undergone a loss of confidence in parliament since 1962, with Georges Pompidou at its helm. The president would address the nation on Thursday evening, the Elysée stated.

How did the no-confidence vote topple Barnier’s government?

Michel Barnier’s eviction comes after snap parliamentary elections this summer, which left a hung parliament with no overall majority, the far right holding a hung parliament with no party having an overall majority and the far right holding the crucial to the government’s survival.

The no-confidence move, brought by the hard left in the National Assembly, came amid a deadlock over next year’s austerity budget after the prime minister forced through a social security financing bill without a vote.

With the critical support of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, a bulk of 331 MPs in the 577-member chamber voted to expel the government. The National Rally leader, Marine Le Pen, stated, “We had a choice to make, and our choice is to protect the French” from a “toxic” budget. Le Pen also accused Macron of being “largely responsible for the current situation,” adding that “the pressure on the president of the Republic will get stronger and stronger.”

What are the implications of Barnier’s resignation for Macron?

Emmanuel Macron now confronts growing calls to resign, but he has a mandate until 2027 and cannot be pushed out. According to experts, France now risks concluding the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution permits special measures that would prevent a U.S.-style government shutdown. France’s political unrest will further weaken a European Union already spinning from the implosion of Germany’s coalition government, weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.