Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces an uphill battle in securing support for his unpopular plans to shore up France’s finances.
By Alex Kozul-Wright
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou last week called for parliament to hold an earlier-than-expected vote of confidence in him. Next week’s ballot could lead to the collapse of his centrist government and prompt a period of further instability in the European Union’s second biggest economy.
The vote on Monday in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, will see Bayrou not only try to secure approval for himself and his government but also for his unpopular budget. But opposition parties have said they will vote against him and cut short his government’s time in office.
President Emmanuel Macron, who has promised to stay on until 2027, may soon face the complex task of appointing a prime minister for the third time in one year after his hasty dissolution of parliament in June 2024.
