Paris
Reuters
–
The French minority government could be ousted next month after three major opposition parties said they would not support the vote of trust announced on September 8th by Prime Minister François Beyloux’s plan for budget cuts.
The far-right National Rally and the Greens said they would vote against him. Socialists said they didn’t see how they could back him up in a vote where Byrou’s fate was primarily lying.
If he loses his trust vote in the Parliament, the Bailu government will collapse.
Uncertainty has turned investors over, pushing the risk premium of French bonds across German equivalents to its highest level since mid-June, five basic points above. The CAC-40 index of major French stocks fell 1.6% over the day.
If the government falls, President Emmanuel Macron can quickly name the new prime minister, ask Beyloo to remain as head of the caretaker government, or call for a snap election.
Macron lost his last Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, in a no-confidence vote on the budget in late 2024 after taking office in just three months after another SNAP election in July of that year.
Bailou admitted that seeking the confidence of a highly fragmented Congress is a risky gamble.
“Yes, that’s dangerous, but it’s even more dangerous to do nothing,” he said at a press conference, noting what he said was the huge danger the country faced because of its enormous debt.
He said he will measure whether he has enough support in Parliament to narrow his budget of 44 billion euros ($515.1 billion) as he attempts to tame while keeping a deficit that reached 5.8% of gross domestic product last year and is nearly twice the EU’s official 3% limit.
If the government wins a vote of trust, it only means he supports his views on French fiscal issues, with a vote on the actual budget itself scheduled for the end of the year.
Bayrou proposed to discard two public holidays and frozen welfare spending and tax brackets at the 2025 level in 2026, but will not adjust for inflation. He said his suggestion to scrap bank holidays could be tweaked.
Far-right party chief Jordan Bardera said Beiru effectively announced the “end of his government” by asking for a vote.
“RN will never vote in favor of a government where the decision is wretched by the people of France,” he said in X. Leader Marine Le Pen said RN will vote for Beiroo, just like the Greens.
Heard left France said he has not stepped down. The vote will mark the end of the government.
The vote of socialist lawmakers is critical to Beyloo’s fate. Because if they join other left-wing parties and join the far right in a vote against the government, there will be enough votes to expel them.
Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte, a party spokesman, said Beyloux was “deaf to the demands of France.”
“I don’t know how I can vote for confidence,” Della Porto told reporters. He opened the door to discuss whether Bayrou was willing to change its budget plan. “For now, he seems stubborn,” he said.
The confidence vote takes place just two days before the planned protest, is called on social media and supported by leftist parties and some unions.
The general call for protest on September 10 was compared to the yellow best protest that broke out in 2018 about fuel prices hikes and high cost of living.
“Gillets Jaune” protests swirled by Macron and his wider efforts to reform economically.
