President Emmanuel Macron called on French lawmakers to put aside their personal ambitions and reject a vote that would topple the government and plunge the country into political turmoil.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party vowed on Wednesday to support a motion of no confidence submitted by the leftist coalition, a motion that would pass if supported by both groups.
National Rally became the largest single party in the lower house of parliament in June’s snap election, turning Le Pen into Paris’s most influential power broker. But Macron expressed confidence that politicians would step back from the brink.
“The only question politicians need to ask themselves today is how they can be useful to the country and the French people,” Macron told reporters during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. “Not how they can be useful to their ambitions or their interests.”
The president said in Riyadh that for Le Pen’s party to support a motion of no confidence would be “a vote of intolerable skepticism,” adding that “I cannot believe that they will vote for this motion.”
MPs in Paris will begin debating the proposals at 4pm on Wednesday, with voting starting immediately afterwards.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier also talked about the possibility that the vote of no confidence would not pass.
“I think it’s possible that there will be a rebound of responsibility,” Barnier said on French TV on Tuesday. “I think the higher interest of the country, the common good, the national interest means something.”
Political difficulties began after Macron called snap elections following his defeat in the European elections. This left the lower house divided into three bitterly opposed factions: a weak center supporting the president, a leftist coalition, and a strong far-right led by Le Pen. With no coalition possible, Macron appointed Barnier prime minister in September with the main mission of organizing France’s disorganized finances.
Barnier used a constitutional mechanism to pass an unpopular budget bill on Monday, prompting National Rally and the leftist coalition to ask for a vote of no confidence. Le Pen went ahead with the proposal even after Barnier accepted almost all of the National Rally’s demands for changes to the budget law.
If the government falls on Wednesday, it would underline the power Le Pen has gained since Macron called a surprise election in June. This will be the shortest tenure of a prime minister since the establishment of the French Fifth Republic in 1958.
The political chaos has prompted bond investors to punish France’s sovereign debt relative to its peers, pushing borrowing costs up to a point last week equal to Greece’s and sending financial markets reeling if Barnier is ousted from power. There is a warning of “storm”.
Investors have been worried for months over France’s political difficulties, while the government tries to push through measures that would reduce its massive deficit. The budget bill initially presented by Barnier’s government included €60 billion ($63.1 billion) in tax increases and spending cuts, aimed at a sharp adjustment in the deficit from an estimated 6.1% this year to 5% of economic output in 2025.
The collapse of the government near the end of the year would take France into uncharted territory. The outgoing administration, acting in a caretaker capacity, may use emergency laws to collect taxes and guarantee minimum levels of spending, but the economic and fiscal impact is difficult to predict.
The current finance minister, Antoine Armand, warned earlier on Tuesday that the stopgap law would raise taxes for millions of families and block spending increases planned for some priorities, including security and farming.
What will happen if the government falls?
- Barnier will resign the government
- His outgoing cabinet will remain in place with limited powers to manage current affairs.
- The French President is solely responsible for appointing the new Prime Minister, but there is no constitutional time limit for his decision.
- It took nearly two months for Macron to select Barnier as there was no clear candidate capable of winning a majority in the hung parliament
- The caretaker government will likely rely on unused emergency legislation to collect taxes and provide minimal spending that it deems vital.
- Once nominated, the new Prime Minister must propose a Cabinet to be appointed by the President
- The new government will have to propose the budget of 2025 in the Parliament.
- New legislative elections are not possible until July
But Macron expressed confidence that politicians voting on Wednesday would step back from the brink.
“The only question politicians today need to ask themselves is how useful they can be to the country and the French people,” Macron said in Riyadh. “Not how they can be useful to their ambitions or their interests.”
If the government falls, ministers will remain with caretaker status to manage current affairs, potentially including emergency legislation to avoid a shutdown. It will then be up to Macron to appoint a new prime minister, although there is no constitutional deadline for his decision.
Meanwhile, the President said that he will not resign until his full term is over. While the left has called for Macron to step down, he cannot be thrown out of his job. According to surveys, the next presidential election is scheduled to be held in 2027 and Le Pen is the frontrunner.
“I have been elected twice by the French people and I am extremely proud of it,” Macron said. “I will honor that trust with all my energy to the last second, to be useful to the country.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
