French PM resigns after losing confidence vote

New Delhi, Sep 9: Prime Minister François Bayrou resigned after losing a confidence vote in the National Assembly, plunging France into another political crisis. His government was defeated 364–194 after he tied its fate to an emergency debate on the country’s €3.4 trillion debt. Bayrou had warned of an “existential” threat if borrowing was not curbed and proposed freezing pensions, welfare payments and scrapping two national holidays to save €44 billion. But lawmakers from the left and far-right united against him, accusing him and President Emmanuel Macron of mishandling the crisis.

The defeat means Bayrou will submit his resignation to Macron, who must now decide whether to appoint a new centrist prime minister, reach out to the Socialists, or dissolve parliament.

Possible successors include Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Labour Minister Catherine Vautrin and Finance Minister Éric Lombard.

Bayrou is the second prime minister to fall in less than a year, leaving France on course for its fifth government in under two years. Meanwhile, protests are building, with unions and activist groups planning mass demonstrations against Macron’s policies in the coming weeks.