PARIS: A day after the French National Assembly ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a historic no-confidence vote, that has left France without a functioning government, President Emmanuel Macron is expected to address the nation on Thursday.
Macron is expected to focus on stabilising the political crisis and possibly name a new prime minister to navigate the fractured parliament.
Barnier formally submitted his resignation Thursday morning at the Elysée Palace, fulfilling a constitutional obligation. The no-confidence motion passed by 331 votes in the National Assembly, forcing Barnier to step down after just three months in office the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern French history.
Macron faces the critical task of naming a replacement capable of leading a minority government in a parliament where no party holds a majority. Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly and a member of Macron’s party, urged the president to move quickly.
The no-confidence vote has galvanised opposition leaders, with some calling for Macron’s resignation. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose party holds the most seats in the Assembly, did not explicitly call for Macron’s resignation but warned that “the pressure on the President of the Republic will get stronger and stronger.”