Another political realignment looms in France as Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a confidence vote on Monday, setting up the potential for economic disaster amid a deepening debt crisis.
The 74-year-old centrist is facing opposition from parties left to the far right, who have said that they will vote against the prime minister. With only 210 of 574 parliamentary members signaling support, Mr. Bayrou will fall well short of the 289 needed, triggering an automatic ouster of him and his minority government after just nine months in office.
If Parliament votes to boot Mr. Bayrou, then President Emmanuel Macron is likely to appoint his third prime minister in the past year and the fifth since his second term began in 2022. He could also dissolve Parliament and call for new National Assembly elections.
“This crisis was provoked and fueled by President Emmanuel Macron and all those who have served him,” head of the far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, who is barred from political candidacy for five years, said Sunday.
“Today, because of them, France is the sick man of Europe.”
France’s prime minister is appointed by the president to manage domestic affairs while the president focuses on foreign policy and national security. Since Mr. Macron called snap parliamentary elections last year, the National Assembly has been deadlocked after splitting into three blocs—left, center, and far-right—with no party holding an absolute majority. The result has been political gridlock and a series of budget disputes.
The longtime ally of Mr. Macron has struggled to gain support for a $51 billion austerity program focused on reducing France’s public debt. His proposals for the country’s budget included eliminating two public holidays and freezing most welfare spending, which has faced opposition across the political spectrum.
Mr. Bayrou is expected to address the French Parliament on Monday afternoon, outlining his assessment of the country’s condition and public debt in a bid for support before votes are cast.
Politicians on the left, which won the most seats in last year’s parliamentary elections but fell short of an absolute majority, are calling for Mr. Macron to appoint a leftist prime minister.
Mr. Macron “can’t go against the results of the polls a third time,” the Green Party’s chief, Marine Tondelier, said Saturday in an interview on France’s leading 24-hour news channel, BFMTV.
PERRY CHIARAMONTE
Source link