French Prime Minister François Bayrou loses crucial confidence vote in parliament

French Prime Minister François Bayrou and his minority government have collapsed after losing a crucial confidence vote in parliament on Monday. 

Of the 573 lawmakers who sit in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, 364 voted against Bayrou, 194 voted for and there were 15 abstentions.

A government source said Bayrou, the first prime minister in modern France's history to be removed in a confidence vote rather than a no-confidence vote, will submit his resignation on Tuesday.

The Élysée Palace said President Emmanuel Macron had "taken note" of the results of the vote and said a new prime minister would be named "in the next few days."

Bayrou, appointed less than a year ago after conservative politician and former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was ousted, lost his gamble after calling an unprecedented confidence vote over his controversial 2026 budget plan. 

French President Emmanuel Macron is now forced to hunt for the fifth prime minister since his second term began in 2022, one that would be able to shepherd a budget through France’s fragmented parliament. 

Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) said on Monday: "The real reset would be the resignation of the French president."

Talking about the next steps, Le Pen added that "The President has only one option: to call new elections and let the country choose."

However, Emmanuel Macron has said that he does not consider new snap elections as his first choice. 

Beyond the corridors of the country's institutions, public patience is wearing thin. 

Several grassroots groups have called for nationwide strikes on Wednesday, while France's main trade unions are preparing strikes and protests on 18 September against the looming budget cuts.

At the heart of the showdown were France's fragile public finances. Last year's deficit reached 5.8% of GDP, nearly double the EU ceiling of 3%, while national debt now stands at more than €3.3 trillion, roughly 114% of economic output. 

Bayrou has argued that drastic cuts are unavoidable, putting forward a plan to slash €44 billion in spending by 2026, partly by scrapping two public holidays.

"Our vital prognosis is at stake. France has not had a balanced budget in 51 years," Bayrou warned during his opening speech, pointing to what he called "the incredible succession of blows of fate since 2020," from the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine to soaring energy prices and inflation.