P
rime Minister François Bayrou's fall, following his government policy statement on September 8, was entirely foreseeable. In a parliamentary system, a prime minister without a supporting majority of MPs is a dead man walking. Bayrou merely chose which date to inscribe on his government's death notice.
Yet, seeing as, until now, the government had escaped a vote of no confidence, it was as if no one had seen it coming. The prime minister's decision to seek a vote of confidence achieved the feat of being both inevitable and ill-timed. His ministers did not even try to hide their surprise, even though, as the Constitution states, a government policy statement must be preceded by a cabinet meeting. It is clear how much this requirement has become a mere formality.
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Macron's weakened centrist bloc scrambles to survive ahead of confidence vote
