French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he will name a new prime minister “in the coming days” after Michel Barnier resigned following a no-confidence vote in parliament.
In a 10-minute address to the nation on Thursday, Macron rejected opposition pressure to step down, vowing to remain in his post “fully, until the end of the mandate” in 2027.
Macron thanked Barnier for his dedication during his brief term as prime minister and accused the French far right and hard left of collaborating in an “anti-republican front” to bring down the government.
French MPs voted overwhelmingly to remove Barnier on Wednesday, only three months after he was appointed by Macron.
This vote marked the first time in over 60 years that a French government had been voted down by parliament, a move Macron labeled “unprecedented.”
In France, the president chooses the prime minister, who then runs the government but must answer to parliament. Barnier lasted only three months before being ousted in a no-confidence vote. Finding a successor who will not be immediately rejected by parliament could be challenging for Macron, whose decision in June to call snap elections led to a deadlocked parliament.
The National Assembly is now split into three major voting blocs: the left, center, and far right. For Macron’s next choice of prime minister to succeed, it is thought that at least part of the left bloc will need to be persuaded to join the next government.
Macron is scheduled to hold talks with several political leaders on Friday. He told the French people he would “appoint in the coming days a prime minister who will form a government of general interest.” He plans to first speak with centrists in the “Macron camp,” followed by meetings with Socialist leaders in the hope of persuading them to split from the broader left bloc, the New Popular Front. He will also engage with the right-wing Republicans.
Socialist leader Olivier Faure stated ahead of the talks that he was open to discussion and “compromises on every issue” towards forming a government based on a “fixed term contract.” However, he made it clear he had little desire to “ensure the continuity of Macronism.”
No new parliamentary elections can be held until July 2025, which might explain Faure’s openness to a limited term for the next government.
