Key Takeaways
- French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to name a new prime minister in the coming days.
- Michel Barnier resigned as prime minister after being voted out of office by the French parliament in a no-confidence vote.
- The French government will continue to function on a caretaker basis until a new government is appointed, with a focus on the budget for 2025.
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron said he will name a new prime minister “in the coming days”, after Michel Barnier resigned following a no-confidence vote in parliament, media reports said on Friday.
In a 10-minute address to the nation on Thursday, he rejected opposition pressure to stand down, vowing to stay in his post “fully, until the end of the mandate” in 2027, according to a BBC report.
He thanked Barnier for his dedication during his brief term as prime minister and accused the French far right and hard left of collaborating in an “anti-republican front” to bring down the government.
According to BBC reports, French MPs voted overwhelmingly to remove Barnier on Wednesday, just three months after he was appointed by Macron.
The vote was the first time a French government had been voted down by parliament in more than 60 years, a move Macron labelled “unprecedented’.
They united to censure the government after the former Brexit negotiator used special powers to force through his budget without a vote.
A total of 331 MPs voted in support of the motion against Barnier, far more than the 288 required for it to pass, the report said.
Barnier resigned on Thursday, and the budget was automatically withdrawn. He will remain in office on a caretaker basis with his ministers until a new government is appointed. Macron’s role is unaffected.
Macron has been heavily criticised for deciding to call snap elections in July, creating a deadlock in parliament and an escalating political crisis.
According to reports, he admitted the decision he took “was not understood”, saying, “Many have blamed me for it and I know, many continue to blame me. It’s a fact and it’s my responsibility.”
Addressing voters directly, he said some of his political opponents had chosen “chaos over responsibility” and that they were not thinking “about you, the voters”, suggesting their focus was on the next presidential elections.
Macron gave no indication of who the next prime minister would be, but said their immediate focus would be the budget for 2025, the report said.
It is unclear if the next government will now be in place before Saturday, when world leaders including US President-elect Donald Trump are due to attend the opening ceremony of the rebuilt Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Macron said the rebuilding of the ravaged cathedral, plus France’s successful hosting of the 2024 Olympics, were “proof that we can do great things”.
