French PM's job on line with call for confidence vote / Photo: Dimitar DILKOFF - AFP
French PM's job on line with call for confidence vote
France's embattled Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Monday his government would request a vote of confidence on September 8, seeking parliamentary backing for his battle against soaring public debt.
The move is high-risk for both Bayrou, whose minority government could be toppled, and President Emmanuel Macron, now on his sixth prime minister since taking office in 2017.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her National Rally party would not back Bayrou's planned cuts, suggesting Bayrou's government could face defeat in the vote.
The announcement came as calls mounted in France to stage protests on September 10.
Facing the prospect of mass demonstrations and threats of censure from opponents, Bayrou told a news conference the National Assembly would be asked to "confirm the scale" of spending reductions, as the government seeks to save around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) with measures including holiday reductions.
"I have asked the president, who has agreed, to convene an extraordinary session of parliament on Monday, September 8," Bayrou told reporters.
France's CAC stock exchange 40 fell 1.59 percent after the announcement.
Bayrou does not have a majority in parliament's lower house, the National Assembly, and the upcoming vote underscores the fragility of his position.
Were Bayrou to be rejected by parliament, it would leave Macron seeking his seventh prime minister and cast a heavy shadow over the remaining two years of his presidential mandate.
Macron, 47, has already faced calls to resign since dissolving parliament last year, but has insisted he will stay on until the end of his term in 2027.
Bayrou said France was going through a "decisive moment."
Both the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) and Bardella's far-right RN said they would use the vote to try to oust the centrist government.
- 'Dissolution' -
In December, National Rally teamed up with a left-wing bloc to topple the government of Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, over the 2026 budget. Barnier was ousted just after three months on the job.
The far-right said on Monday they would not back Bayrou's government on September 10.
Jordan Bardella, leader of Le Pen's party, predicted "the end of the Bayrou government".
"The RN will never vote in favour of a government whose choices cause suffering to the French people," he said.
Bardella, 29, could be a leading candidate in the 2027 elections if his mentor and three-time presidential candidate Le Pen, 57, remains disqualified because of her conviction in a fake jobs case. She has appealed.
Green leader Marine Tondelier said Bayrou's announcement was "in fact a resignation."
"The Ecologists do not have confidence in this prime minister, who is pursuing a project that is irresponsible both socially and environmentally," she wrote on social media. "We will vote against it."
The Socialists, whose support Bayrou has previously counted on, have not yet expressed their official position. But "in all likelihood", the Socialist group will unanimously vote against the government, said MP Philippe Brun.
In mid-July, Bayrou presented 2026 budget proposals, saying he wanted to reduce the number of public holidays in France as part of a bid to tackle what he called the "curse" of the country's debt.
After years of overspending, France is on notice to control its public deficit and cut its sprawling debt, as required under EU rules.
Bayrou did not address the substance of the measures on Monday.
The French prime minister referred to calls to bring the country to a standstill on September 10, which originated on social media and are now supported by the left.
"France is not those who want to bring it down through disorder, it is those who want to build it through courage and generosity," Bayrou said.
D.Michael--VZ
