Paris: France plunged into a major political crisis after Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s right-wing minority coalition was defeated in a no-confidence vote, resulting in his removal just three months into office, making him the shortest-serving prime minister in the country’s history.
In Wednesday’s voting process, a total of 331 lawmakers of the 577-seat lower house of the French parliament decided to bring down the government. The government was toppled following a no-confidence motion spearheaded by a coalition of left-wing parties, with support from MPs of Marine Le Pen’s far-right, National Rally.
Earlier, Barnier said that if the motion passes then “everything will be more difficult and more serious for the French.”
‘An Honour to Serve France’
Following the voting result, Bariner expressed his gratitude for the opportunity saying, “An honour to have served France and the French with dignity.”
At 73 years old, Barnier served only 91 days as prime minister, while his government, consisting of centrist and right-wing ministers, lasted just 74 days, as reported by Euronews.
He led a fragile minority government composed of President Macron’s centrist party and the right-wing Les Republicains (LR), but the alliance was informal and lacked an absolute majority. The RN, with 124 seats in the National Assembly, held significant influence in the political landscape.
Who is Michel Barnier, the Shortest-Serving PM of France?
Born on 9 January 1951, Barnier is a French politician who has served as the Prime Minister of France since 5 September 2024. His political career began in the 1970s after he served on the staff of various Gaullist ministers. iN 1978, he was elected to the National Assembly as deputy for the department of Savoie representing the neo-Gaullists, Rally for the Republic (RPR).
He became the youngest president of the departmental council of Savoie in 1982, following a deal called the Union for Savoie between right-wing and centrist parties in the council.
Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator was personally appointed by President Macron as the prime minister in the September snap election in July resulted in a hung parliament.
What Will be Macron’s Next Step?
The recent toppling of the government has left President Emmanuel Macron in a major political dilemma since no new elections can be called before July 2025. The President is expected to address the nation on Thursday.
Amid this, any new prime minister would face the same difficulties as Barnier in securing the passage of bills, including the 2025 budget, in a divided parliament.
Meanwhile, Macron can ask Barnier and his ministers to remain in a caretaker role while he takes time to find a prime minister who can garner enough cross-party support to pass legislation.
The caretaker government could either propose emergency legislation to extend the tax-and-spend provisions from the 2024 budget into the following year or can use its special powers to pass the draft 2025 budget by decree.
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