In a primetime TV interview on the eve of a no-confidence vote that looks set to topple his government, Barnier said he remained open to budget talks with the far-right National Rally and other parties but warned that France was experiencing a tense moment.
“We are not bargaining, we are not going to be blackmailed by the National Rally,” Barnier said, adding that party leader Marine Le Pen had overplayed her hand.
But he rejected the idea that President Emmanuel Macron should resign to unblock the country’s political crisis, calling him a guarantor of stability.
Several prominent opposition figures and even some voices closer to the presidential faction have suggested that resignation could be Macron’s only viable option, something the president dismissed as “political fiction”.
French parliamentarians are set to debate a no-confidence motion tabled by the leftist New Popular Front alliance and backed by the National Rally party starting at 4pm Paris time on Wednesday.
Barnier’s budget, which seeks to raise €20 billion through tax hikes while cutting €40 billion in government spending, had been opposed by politicians on both the left and right.
Barnier warned Tuesday that “18 million” French people “will see their income tax increase” if his budget is not adopted.
His fragile coalition would be the first French government to be forced out by a no-confidence vote since 1962.
While most observers predict that the unlikely alliance of the left and far right will succeed in bringing down the government, Macron appeared to hold out some hope on Tuesday, saying he could “not believe” that the no-confidence motion would we passed against the government.
“My priority is stability,” he added.
Barnier’s minority government had relied on far-right support for its survival before the shaky alliance collapsed as both sides blamed each other for failing to reach a spending deal.
Speaking on the eve of the vote, Macron accused the far-right National Rally party of “unbearable cynicism” in backing the left’s no-confidence push.
“We must not scare people with these things, we have a strong economy,” he added.
A government collapse would leave a hole at the heart of Europe, with Germany also in election mode weeks ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump re-entering the White House.
If the no-confidence vote does indeed go through, Barnier would have to tender his resignation but Macron could ask him to stay on in a caretaker role as he seeks a new prime minister, likely to be named sometime next year.
By law, no new snap parliamentary elections can be called before July.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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