Aug. 26 (UPI) -- French opposition parties across the political spectrum vowed Tuesday they would vote to bring down Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's minority government in a confidence vote he called in a last-ditch effort to push through a 2026 budget containing $51.3 billion of spending cuts.
With just 214 seats in the National Assembly and the right-leaning National Rally joining the Socialists, Greens and La France Insoumise "France Unbowed" on the left to warn they will not support him in the Sept. 8 vote, Bayrou's coalition faces collapse just nine months after the same fate befell his predecessor, Michel Barnier.
Bayrou said the move, which came as the country was braced for national "block everything" protests against the cuts on Wednesday, organized via an online campaign, was necessary due to the danger posed by France's ballooning budget deficit, which topped 5.8% of GDP in 2024.
European Union rules contained in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty mandate that countries that use the euro keep budget deficits to a maximum 3% of GDP.
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