A breakdown of the 331 votes in favour of a no-confidence motion
Far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined forces to back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his government, with a majority 331 votes in support of the motion.
To see a breakdown of the votes by parliamentary group, click here.
Outgoing Prime Minister Michel Barnier to submit his resignation to Macron on Thursday
Barnier is expected at the Elysee Palace at 10am local time for the formality which is a constitutional obligation following a vote of no confidence.
The Economist magazine: “Merde! France steps into the unknown”
Vote to oust French PM prompts ‘extreme apprehension’ in Brussels
The decision by French opposition lawmakers to bring down the government on Wednesday and throw the European Union’s second-biggest economic power deeper into a political crisis has prompted a “mood of extreme apprehension” in Brussels, FRANCE 24 correspondent Dave Keating reported.
“It is the uncertainty and political paralysis that is the most concerning,” Keating noted. “Especially when it is coming at the same time as political paralysis in Germany, with everyone waiting for the outcome of the election there in February.”
“It is a dangerous moment to have both France and Germany adrift here,” he added.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen says Macron has last say on his resignation
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said pressure was now piling up on President Emmanuel Macron even though she was not calling for his resignation, adding Macron alone had the last say on the matter.
French hard left urges Macron to resign and trigger early presidential elections
France’s hard left on Wednesday urged President Emmanuel Macron to resign and hold early presidential elections after lawmakers voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
“We are now calling on Macron to go,” Mathilde Panot, the head of the parliamentary faction of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party told reporters, urging “early presidential elections” to solve a deepening political crisis.
Until now, Macron rejected calls for his resignation, saying such a scenario amounted to “political fiction”.
Macron to address nation on Thursday evening at 8:00pm Paris time
French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation Thursday evening in a televised speech, the Elysee presidential palace said on Wednesday, after French opposition lawmakers earlier brought the government down.
Vote to oust French Prime Minister Michel Barnier a ‘foregone conclusion’
FRANCE 24 journalist Clovis Casali, reporting from the lower house National Assembly, said the decision by MPs to oust French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was a “foregone conclusion”.
“His speech was very much a goodbye speech, stressing what he had achieved,” Casali remarked.
“The difficulty now is for President Emmanuel Macron to find someone who can convince a majority in the National Assembly to pass laws,” he added.
President Emmanuel Macron now has the unenviable choice of picking a viable successor with over two years of his presidential term left.
French government collapse raises questions over Ukraine support
The fall of France’s government on Wednesday and the failure to pass a budget could make it difficult for Paris to ramp up its support for Ukraine despite President Emmanuel Macron’s repeated promises to help Kyiv for as long as necessary.
Speaking ahead of the no-confidence vote, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there would be an impact on France’s support for Ukraine. “A large part of the Ukrainian support is the transfer of old equipment from the French army that is then replaced with new equipment,” Lecornu told Le Parisien newspaper.
“If we slow the order of new equipment then we will have a slowdown of deliveries for Ukraine.”
By not passing the 2025 budget, which will in essence mean the 2024 budget will be reconducted next year, the defence budget would not reach its 50 billion euros target and signify a loss for the army of 3.3 billion euros, Lecornu said.
Government of French PM Michel Barnier toppled after parliament passes no-confidence motion
French MPs voted 331 out of 574 in favour of supporting a no-confidence motion, toppling Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his government. A majority of 288 was needed to pass the vote.
No French government had lost a confidence vote since Georges Pompidou’s in 1962.
- The government of French Prime Minister Michel Barnier did not survive a no-confidence vote on Wednesday. President Emmanuel Macron must now find a viable successor.
- The hard left and far right each brought forth a motion of no confidence after the premier forced through a social security financing bill without a vote on Monday.
- The motions were debated by MPs in the lower house National Assembly as of 4pm and the vote on the first measure took place until 8:20pm Paris time.
- It is the first successful no-confidence vote since a defeat for Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
- Macron will address the nation on Thursday at 8:00pm local time, and Barnier is set to hand in his resignation tomorrow as well.
French MPs have until 8:20pm to vote on no-confidence motion
The National Assembly said the no-confidence motion requires at least 288 of 574 votes to pass.
Barnier admits budget ‘was not perfect’ but that he ‘is not afraid’
“This budget was not perfect,” Prime Minister Michel Barnier admitted in his speech, recalling he only had “15 days” to come up with it.
“It was seriously improved by many of your amendments,” he told MPs. “Often taken from all [political] groups.”
Later on, he admitted that he was “not afraid” of the no-confidence motion he and his government are facing.
Barnier tells far-right National Rally ‘we do not have the same idea of sovereignty’
In a speech defending his government ahead of a no-confidence vote that could see it crumble, Prime Minister Michel Barnier told the National Rally party that “we do not have the same idea of sovereignty or patriotism”.
Former PM Gabriel Attal speaks in defence of the government
Former centrist prime minister under Emmanuel Macron, Gabriel Attal, defended the government and called for “less noise and more action”.
“What French person will be able to say that thanks to the fall of the government, thanks to the instability that this will cause, their daily life will improve?” he posed. “No one.”
Gabriel Attal delivers a speech during the debate prior to the no-confidence votes. © Alain Jocard, AFP
He applauded Barnier’s budget by saying it was “clear” and all about “acting and moving forward”.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier addresses parliament
The prime minister received a standing ovation as he took the stepped up to defend his government in a speech ahead of the no-confidence vote.
Right-wing MP Éric Ciotti says Barnier budget is ‘a bad budget’
Right-wing MP Éric Ciotti, who recently left Les Républicains to lead a group allied with the far-right National Rally, called the budget proposed by Barnier a “bad budget … a socialist budget”.
He went on to say that his MPs would vote in favour of the no-confidence motions.
‘Our hands will not tremble’ to vote in favour of no-confidence motion, Green Party president says
Cyrielle Chatelain, president of the Green Party parliamentary group that is part of the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, said her MPs decision to table the vote of no-confidence “was made consciously”.
When they vote in favour of the motion, she said, “our hands will not tremble”.
“We choose to believe that the best is still possible,” Chatelain added in her address to the National Assembly.
Right-wing Laurent Wauquiez says MPs can choose between ‘responsibility’ or ‘chaos’
Laurent Wauquiez, member of the right-wing Les Républicains party, gave an ultimatum in his speech.
“There are only two possible choices: the interest of the country or that of the parties. The choice of responsibility of the choice of chaos,” he told MPs at the National Assembly.
“We cannot lie to the French people by saying there will not be consequences,” Wauquiez added. “A no-confidence vote means the end of emergency aid for farmers.”
Les Républicains has said it will not be voting for the no-confidence motion.
French farmers launched protests in November against a proposed deal between the EU and the four South American countries of the Mercosur trade bloc, galvanised by a previous wave of action last winter to denounce tight revenues.
Socialist party leader Boris Vallaud criticises government of forcing legislation without vote
Head of the centre-left Socialist party Boris Vallaud told Barnier the no-confidence motion was “first and foremost” his failure.
“A left-wing prime minister, leading the nation in line with the will of the voters … is what we call a non-censorship government that can lead without [forcing through bills],” he said.
The use of the constitutional tool, called Article 49.3, allows the government to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote but leaves it exposed to no-confidence motions.
Barnier on Monday forced through a social security financing bill without a vote, which triggered the hard left and the far right to bring in their no-confidence motions.
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