French government poised to fall amid budget fight

Barnier may soon become the first French prime minister forced out by a no-confidence vote since 1962

(Image credit: Stephane De Sakutin / AFP via Getty Images)

published 3 December 2024

What happened

The French government is widely expected to collapse this week after far-right and leftist opposition parties both filed motions of no confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier Monday. Barnier, appointed in September by centrist President Emmanuel Macron, irked both factions by moving to push through a controversial 2025 budget without parliamentary approval.

Barnier has been leading a "minority government whose very survival depended on the indulgence of its enemies," notably far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the BBC said. After he refused Le Pen's latest budget demands, she vowed to "pull the plug" by supporting the leftist bloc's no-confidence vote Wednesday or Thursday. Barnier's ouster and the resulting death of his proposed austerity budget threatens to rattle financial markets, worsen France's "soaring deficit" and "reverberate across the eurozone," The Associated Press said.

"Barring a last-minute surprise," Barnier will become the first French prime minister "forced out by a no-confidence vote since 1962," Reuters said. Macron could ask him to stay on in a caretaker role while he finds a replacement. Macron can't be ousted before his term ends in 2027, and he couldn't call new parliamentary elections until July, a year after his last snap elections pushed France into this gridlock.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.