French lawmakers to vote Wednesday on toppling the government
France’s Michel Barnier faces an abrupt end to his premiership after only three months in power
French lawmakers will hold a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen expected to join forces with a left-wing coalition to topple the government.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier used a constitutional mechanism on Monday to force through an unpopular budget, leading to a leftist coalition and Le Pen’s National Rally to call for votes of no confidence.
The latest developments plunged the euro zone’s second-biggest economy deeper into political crisis, with serious doubt cast over whether the annual budget will be approved.
“The French have had enough,” National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen told reporters in parliament, saying Barnier, who only became prime minister in early September, had made things worse and needed to be pushed out. “We are proposing a motion of no confidence against the government,” she said.
Barring a last-minute surprise, Barnier’s fragile coalition will be the first French government to be forced out by a no-confidence vote since 1962.
The lifespan of Barnier’s government would also be the shortest of any administration of France’s Fifth Republic since 1958.
