French opposition lawmakers brought the government down on Wednesday, throwing the European Union’s second-biggest economic power deeper into a political crisis that threatens its capacity to legislate and rein in a massive budget deficit.
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.
Barnier was expected to tender his resignation and that of his government to President Emmanuel Macron shortly.
No French government had lost a confidence vote since Georges Pompidou’s in 1962. This time, Macron had ushered in the crisis by calling a snap election in June that delivered a polarised parliament.
With its president diminished, France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution allows special measures that would avert a US-style government shutdown.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen reacts during the debate before the no-confidence votes on Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s administration at the National Assembly in Paris on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
France’s political turmoil will further weaken a European Union already reeling from the implosion of Germany’s coalition government, and weeks before US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
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Publish date : 2024-12-04 11:54:00
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