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Reuters

The challenge French President Emmanuel Macron faces in choosing his fifth prime minister in under two years lays bare the depth of a political crisis that in many ways is of his own making, and one with no clear path out.
Francois Bayrou was set to tender his resignation as prime minister on Tuesday, a day after the parliament voted to bring down the government over its plans for taming the budget deficit.
Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, had suffered the same fate over his fiscal plans only nine months ago.
Fighting for his survival, Bayrou warned lawmakers his downfall would not erase the reality of France’s fiscal largesse. But like the conservative Barnier, he had little protection with no parliamentary majority.

Passing policy through a deeply fractured parliament has become fraught with danger for Macron after a failed bet on a snap election in 2024 weakened his hand.
“There’s no easy way out of here,” said Kevin Arceneaux, director of Sciences Po university’s political research. “The president is really in a difficult position.”
France has rarely suffered a political crisis so deep since the creation in 1958 of the Fifth Republic, the current system of government.
The 1958 constitution was designed to ensure stable governance by creating a powerful and highly centralised president endowed with a strong majority in parliament, and to avoid the instability of the periods immediately before and after World War II.
Instead, Macron - who in his ascent to power in 2017 reshaped the political landscape - has found himself struggling with a fragmented parliament where the centre no longer holds the balance and the far-right and hard-left hold sway.
France is not used to building coalitions and finding consensus.

As political opponents rounded on Bayrou before the confidence vote, political analysts said Macron had few cards to play.
The president could appoint another premier from his own ranks. Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s name was among those mentioned as speculation mounted before Monday’s confidence vote. Such a pick would risk appearing tone-deaf and accentuating public discontent.
Some political commentators have said they expect Macron to turn to a Socialist to lead a minority government. But, rather than seeking a stable coalition, the centre-left is pushing for a “non-aggression pact” and the chance to implement its own agenda.
The Socialists were advocating policies to tax the rich and reverse an unpopular increase of the retirement age. Such measures run counter to Macron’s pro-business precepts and undermine past reforms intended to attract foreign investors.
“I don’t believe in the left-wing government scenario,” lawmaker Eric Coquerel, whose hard-left party’s alliance with the Socialists hangs by a thread, told Reuters. “Changing his economic policy, even slightly, is out of the question for Macron.”
Macron could call another snap election, but opinion polls show Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally would strengthen its standing as the biggest single political force in the National Assembly. Macron’s party would lose even more seats.

Le Pen, who is banned from running for office and would lose her seat in a new parliament, has said she is ready to “sacrifice” herself and is urging Macron to trigger an “ultra-fast dissolution”.
The prospect of sharing power with his Eurosceptic, nationalist arch-rivals would be a humiliating blow for Macron, making a mockery of his pledge to counter reactionary forces.
Sources close to the president say he is reluctant to call another snap election. “But you can’t rule out anything with him, he is really unpredictable,” cautioned a lawmaker in his party who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Some politicians are calling for a constitutional overhaul and the creation of a Sixth Republic.
But it is unclear how reverting to a more parliamentary system - tried and tested during the chronically-unstable Third and Fourth Republics - would improve France’s governability.
With no constitutional mechanism to force a presidential resignation, Macron is likely to face mounting pressure both inside and outside parliament.
In a country prone to popular uprisings - such as the year-long Yellow Vest crisis of 2018/19 when Macron faced protests over further fuel tax increases - and still reeling from the cost-of-living crunch, discontent is simmering.
In his most recent New Year’s Eve address, Macron floated the idea of referendums. Cornered, he may be tempted to reach for another political wild card.
In 1969, post-war leader Charles de Gaulle tried the same tactic to regain control after the May 1968 student protests that grew into a nationwide movement.
He lost - and resigned the next day.


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France

France’s Macron facing critical dilemma after second PM ousted in a year

France’s President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: AFP

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou addresses the National Assembly, prior to a parliamentary confidence vote. Photo: AP

France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after the confidence vote. Photo: AFP

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Photo: AFP

France’s Macron scrambles to find new prime minister after government ousted

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou before a speech and a confidence vote in Paris on Monday. Photo: TNS

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou addresses the National Assembly before a confidence vote that ousted him. Photo: Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: dpa

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen at the National Assembly in Paris on Monday. Photo: Reuters

France’s political crisis deepens as PM Bayrou faces ousting in confidence vote

France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou poses from the balcony of his office in Paris. Photo: AFP

Francois Bayrou in his office in Paris. Photo: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou. Photo: EPA

News

World

Europe

Francois Bayrou’s fall leaves France’s president with no easy solution, as a new election could deliver gains for Marine Le Pen’s party


Francois Bayrou’s fall leaves France’s president with no easy solution, as a new election could deliver gains for Marine Le Pen’s party.


Emmanuel Macron

European Union

Francois Bayrou

France’s Macron facing critical dilemma after second PM ousted in a year

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Francois Bayrou’s fall leaves France’s president with no easy solution, as a new election could deliver gains for Marine Le Pen’s party

Francois Bayrou’s fall leaves France’s president with no easy solution, as a new election could deliver gains for Marine Le Pen’s party