France’s government collapsed today. No, it wasn’t because of the Blitzkrieg, but the nation is trying to get its fiscal house in order, which hasn’t been smooth in the French Parliament. The now-ousted French Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a no-confidence vote badly, forcing President Emanuel Macron to appoint yet another prime minister. This would be the fifth premier in less than two years. Bayrou wanted to cut the deficit, and that’s what did him in (via Financial Times):
French Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a confidence vote on Monday, bringing his government to an end after only nine months and piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron to stem a spiraling political crisis.
Bayrou, a veteran centrist and Macron ally, risked his premiership by seeking parliamentary support for his deficit-cutting efforts, a €44bn package of tax hikes and spending cuts.
The confidence motion was defeated by 364 votes to 194 in the national assembly as opposition parties from across the spectrum united against him.
Bayrou ended his premiership on a defiant note, warning France’s debt problem would not disappear without action.
“You have the power to topple the government, but you don’t have the power to erase reality,” he told lawmakers before the vote.
Bayrou was expected to submit his official resignation to Macron on Tuesday.
His ousting is only the third time since the 1958 start of France’s fifth republic that a prime minister has been toppled by parliament.
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Macron could resign, but that’s unlikely.
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