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Parties have blamed Macron of exacerbating the crisis with his ill-fated decision of snap elections that left no party with a majority in the Parliament.
French President Macron is facing calls to step down amid a political turbulence. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron struck a defiant tone on Thursday, vowing to stay in office till his term expires in 2027 a day after France plunged into a political crisis when Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government was ousted in a bipartisan no-confidence vote over his fiscal plans, barely three months after he was appointed.
In a televised address to the nation, Macron said he would name a successor to Barnier in the “coming days” who will prioritise the preparation of a budget as the latest debacle leaves France with the danger of ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget.
Michel Barnier’s resignation was accepted by the presidency on Thursday but he will remain in office as a caretaker PM until a new government is named. The ongoing crisis stemmed from Macron’s ill-fated decision to hold snap elections in June, which left the Parliament without any party achieving a majority.
Macron Denies Blame For Political Crisis
With the government in peril, some lawmakers have suggested President Macron, should resign to break the political impasse. “We are now calling on Macron to go,” said Mathilde Panot, the head of the parliamentary faction of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party after Barnier’s cabinet was ousted.
However, Macron denied that he was responsible for the ongoing political crisis and accused far-right and left-wing parties of uniting in an “anti-republican front” to create “a mess” by ousting Barnier a few days before Christmas. “We can’t allow ourselves to be divided or to do nothing. That’s why I’ll name a prime minister in the coming days,” he said.
Macron asserted that he will stay in office until his term ends in May 2027. “The mandate you have given me is for five years and I will fulfil it until the very end,” he said, adding that the new government should represent several political parties who can participate in it or at least agree to not bring it down.
Macron will meet leaders of the parliamentary factions of his own centrist forces, the Socialist Party and the right-wing Republicans on Friday to continue the search for a compromise. The hard-left France Unbowed and far-right National Rally (RN) have not been invited at this stage.
Macron loyalist Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Macron’s centrist ally Francois Bayrou have been touted as possible contenders after Barnier’s exit, as has former Socialist premier and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
No-Confidence Motion Aimed At Macron
Barnier faced the wrath of the left and the far-right after he recently tried to push through a 2025 national budget without a vote in the lower house of parliament by invoking a presidential decree. Both the Left and the far-right tabled no-confidence motions against Barnier in the 577-member National Assembly, and 331 voted in favour of them.
The last time a no-confidence succeeded was in 1962 against Georges Pompidou, when Charles de Gaulle was President. France is now without a government for the time being, which means its ability to pass laws to ease its budget crisis is deeply hampered with a deeply polarised National Assembly.
French left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon on Thursday said the no-confidence motion was aimed at President Macron. “It was not (Prime Minister) Mr. (Michel) Barnier who was the object of the no-confidence vote… It was Macron who was the object of the no-confidence vote,” he said.
According to a poll by Odoxa-Backbone Consulting for Le Figaro daily, 59 per cent of French people want the president to step down, while a survey by Harris for RTL put the figure even higher, at 64 per cent.
(with inputs from agencies)