French Government Falls as Prime Minister François Bayrou Loses Confidence Vote
French Prime Minister François Bayrou is making a last-ditch appeal to lawmakers in a desperate effort to keep his job. Speaking passionately to the National Assembly, the 74-year-old leader warned that France’s growing public debt is a serious threat, not only to the country's future but also to the stability of the entire European Union.
Bayrou emphasized that the nation’s rising debts risk burdening future generations, making France vulnerable to foreign creditors and undermining the social safety nets that are a cornerstone of French society. “Our country works, it thinks it’s getting richer, but in reality, it keeps getting poorer,” he said, pausing briefly amid heckling from opposition members who tried to drown out his message.
Despite his pleas, the confidence vote scheduled for Monday evening is expected to go against him. If that happens, Bayrou will have no choice but to resign and hand over his minority government to President Emmanuel Macron. This moment marks a significant turning point, highlighting the deep challenges France faces as it wrestles with economic and political uncertainty.
The likely fall of François Bayrou's short-lived tenure as French Prime Minister—he took office just this past December—signals a new wave of uncertainty for a nation already facing significant challenges. France is grappling with a difficult budget situation while also navigating complex international crises, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as shifting priorities from the US under President Donald Trump.
Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s strong control over foreign policy and his role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, his domestic ambitions are faltering. His struggle to maintain a stable government in a parliament filled with opponents has made it increasingly difficult to push his agenda forward.
Bayrou expressed deep frustration that politicians from across the political spectrum were ready to vote against him, rather than uniting around his urgent warning about France’s growing debt crisis—a crisis he insisted would remain even if he were forced out of office. “You have the power to bring down the government, but you don’t have the power to erase reality,” he declared. If Bayrou is ousted, he will be the third prime minister to fall in just 12 months, underscoring the political instability gripping the country.
The National Assembly, with its 577 members, interrupted its summer break to hold the confidence vote Bayrou himself requested. After a 40-minute speech defending his government’s position, lawmakers began debating before casting their votes likely in the early evening. In this vote, members can support, oppose, or abstain.
Bayrou needs to secure a majority of votes in favor to keep his government alive. But if the majority turns against him, France’s constitution requires Bayrou to resign and submit his government’s resignation to President Macron, plunging the country further into political crisis at a critical moment.
President Emmanuel Macron is paying a high price for his bold decision to dissolve the National Assembly in June 2024, hoping to strengthen his pro-European centrist alliance through new legislative elections. Instead, the move backfired, resulting in a fragmented parliament with no clear majority—an unprecedented situation in France’s modern republic.
This political deadlock has severely restricted Macron’s domestic agenda during his second and final presidential term, which ends in 2027. Without a stable majority in the National Assembly, Macron has had to cycle through three prime ministers, each struggling to build consensus and prevent government collapse.
Gabriel Attal, Macron’s protégé, left the prime minister’s post just eight months after taking office, shortly after the Paris Olympics. He was replaced by Michel Barnier, a former Brexit negotiator and conservative, who became the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history after being ousted by a no-confidence vote in December.
Macron then appointed François Bayrou, a seasoned centrist ally, to lead the government. Yet Bayrou faces the same challenge: the National Assembly remains deeply divided, with no party holding enough seats to govern alone. Opposition groups, despite profound political differences, are able to unite against the government, pulling the political rug out from under Bayrou’s feet with coordinated votes.