France’s Macron scrambles to find new prime minister after government ousted
President Macron is seeking a fifth prime minister in less than two years after the French government collapsed in a confidence vote
President Emmanuel Macron will accept the resignation of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Tuesday after his government was ejected in a confidence vote, with the French leader rushing to find a successor and stave off a new political crisis.
The French presidency said in a statement that Macron “took note” of the outcome and said Macron would name a new premier “in the next days”, ending any remaining speculation that the president could instead call snap elections.
Macron will meet Bayrou on Tuesday “to accept the resignation of his government”, it added.
Precisely when the new premier could be named remains unclear, with a source close to Macron saying an appointment as early as Tuesday was possible and a presidential address also not ruled out.
Bayrou had blindsided even his allies by calling a confidence vote to end a lengthy stand-off over his austerity budget, which foresaw almost €44 billion (US$52 billion) of cost savings to reduce France’s debt pile.