French Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s small government has lost a vote of no confidence in parliament, becoming the first authority to be ousted in this way since 1962 and marking the shortest-lived government of the Fifth Republic.
331 MPs supported the proposal presented by the left-wing NFP and suddenly backed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, exceeding the 288 votes needed to topple the government.
Barnier, a veteran Conservative who served as prime minister for less than three months, must now submit his resignation, along with his government’s, to President Emmanuel Macron.
Barnier’s removal immediately follows parliamentary elections later this summer, which resulted in a hung parliament. With no party controlling a majority, the votes of the far side become more important for the government’s survival.
President Emmanuel Macron is now facing the difficult task of appointing a new prime minister as there are more than two years left in his term.
The National Assembly discussed this proposal amid disagreements over next year’s budget to cut costs. Tensions rose after Barnier passed a parliamentary vote on a social security bill earlier this week.
The vote of no confidence is the first successful attempt to overthrow the government since Georges Pompidou’s regime fell in 1962 under President Charles de Gaulle.
Barnier’s government also holds the record for the shortest term of the Fifth Republic, established in 1958.
Macron returned to Paris for a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia just before the final vote, shifting his focus from international talks to managing a escalating domestic crisis.
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