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By Harrison Stetler
Mr. Stetler is a journalist who writes about French and European politics. He wrote from Paris.
He bet the house and lost.
In calling the confidence vote that brought down his government on Monday, Prime Minister François Bayrou of France has plunged the country into turmoil. He’s now the second prime minister evicted from power since last fall, when President Emmanuel Macron tapped a minority coalition of centrists and conservatives after the inconclusive snap election in the summer of 2024. Unaccustomed to paralysis of this kind, France is once again without a government.
