The French president faces calls to resign amid a worsening political crisis

After the resignation of French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, President Emmanuel Macron faces an unenviable situation, which is choosing a successor acceptable to all parties for Barnier, after Macron has about two years remaining in his presidential term, at a time when some opponents are demanding his resignation. At the same time, the fragmented parliament will remain unchanged, as new legislative elections cannot be held until at least next July.

Barnier’s government is the first government to be overthrown by a vote of no confidence in more than 60 years in France, and this fall comes only three months after he assumed this position, which is the shortest period for a prime minister to complete his duties.

Barnier said in his last speech before the vote: “I can tell you that it will remain an honor for me to serve France and the French with dignity,” adding: “The motion of no confidence will make things more complicated and difficult…this is what I am sure of.”

Barnier’s departure comes after the early parliamentary elections that took place last summer, which resulted in a hung parliament without any party obtaining an overall majority, while the extreme right held the key to the government’s survival.

Austerity budget

The motion of no confidence, presented by the hard-line left in the National Assembly, came amid a confrontation over the austerity budget for next year, after the Prime Minister resorted last Monday to passing a draft law on financing social security without a vote from Parliament, using a related article of the constitution.

With decisive support from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, a majority of 331 deputies in the 577-member assembly voted to overthrow the government.

Speaking to the TF1 television channel after the vote, Le Pen said: “We had a choice, and our choice was to protect the French” from a budget she described as “toxic.”

She also accused Macron of being “largely responsible for the current situation,” saying that “the pressures on the President of the Republic will grow stronger and stronger.”

This was the first successful vote of no confidence since the defeat of Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.

Early elections

Macron returned to Paris just before the vote after concluding a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia. After landing in Paris, he headed directly to the Elysee Palace.

The head of the parliamentary bloc of the hard-left France Party, Mathilde Bannot, told reporters: “We now call on Macron to leave,” and urged “early presidential elections” to resolve the worsening political crisis.

Le Pen was careful not to flaunt the government’s downfall, and said that her party – once a new prime minister is in place – would “allow them to work” and help create a “budget acceptable to everyone.”

However, Le Monde newspaper reported in one of its editorials that Le Pen risked the anger of her supporters, such as retirees and business leaders, by toppling the government. “Within a few minutes, it shattered the normalization strategy that it had consistently followed,” the newspaper reported.

The head of the right-wing representatives in Parliament, Laurent Fouquier, said that the far right and the extreme left bear responsibility for the vote of no confidence, which “will push the country into instability.”

Strikes

With markets tense and France preparing for public sector strikes against the threat of cost cuts, a measure that will close schools and hit air and rail traffic; There is a growing sense of crisis.

Unions called on civil servants, including teachers and air traffic controllers, to go on strike on December 10, 11 and 12, over separate cost-cutting measures.

Meanwhile, President Macron, whose term runs until 2027, is set to host a major international event with the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral after a 2019 fire, with guests including US President-elect Donald Trump, who will visit the country on his first foreign trip since Re-elected.

Decisions from the top

Macron took power in 2017, promising to rule France as he saw fit, issuing decisions from the top, which would be implemented by officials under his command.

Macron appears to have consulted only a small circle of advisors before concluding last June that he would dissolve the National Assembly following the defeat of his centrist movement in the European elections.

His former prime minister, Gabriel Attal, was among those kept in the dark, as he appeared stunned when he discovered the plan, and predicted that Macron’s early parliamentary elections would end in chaos.

After a two-month search for a prime minister to replace Attal over the summer, Macron in September appointed former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to head a fragile minority government. Three months later, Barnier stepped down before he could even approve next year’s budget.

Macron is again looking for a fourth prime minister this year, although whoever chooses him will face the same dilemma that Barnier faced in light of the lack of a majority in the National Assembly, and the constitution that prohibits holding new parliamentary elections before July.

With the economy weighing 3.2 trillion euros in debt, bond markets increasingly nervous about France’s ability to rein it in and discontent threatening to explode in the streets, public sector unions are preparing to strike, as there is no clear way out of the quagmire.

The only solution

Commentators have begun to suggest that the only solution may be Macron’s resignation, which could open the way for new presidential elections that would reshape the political landscape. Macron rejected any such idea as a “political fantasy.”

Speaking during his visit to Saudi Arabia last week, Macron said that he would remain in office until the end of his second and final term in 2027. But his opponents, especially Marine Le Pen, leader of the populist right-wing National Rally party, are not so sure.

She is said to believe that if Macron’s next prime minister suffers the same fate as Barnier, a distinct possibility given parliamentary calculations, the president will face increasing pressure to leave office.

Le Pen has every reason to hope that this will happen sooner rather than later. On March 31, the Paris Criminal Court will issue its ruling in a trial related to allegations that her party embezzled at least 4.5 million euros from the European Parliament. She denies any wrongdoing, but if she is found guilty, She may be banned from participating in the presidential race. About the Guardian

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Candidates for prime minister

Although the candidates for French prime minister are few, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist ally François Bayrou are considered potential contenders. On the left, Macron may turn to former Socialist Prime Minister and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who is a candidate in September.

Michel Barnier was the fifth prime minister since Macron took power in 2017, with each serving a shorter term in succession. Given the unrest, the new candidate risks a shorter term than that of Barnier, whose term was the shortest of any administration since the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958. Several sources have reported that Macron may quickly appoint a new prime minister.

. The no-confidence motion came after a confrontation over next year’s austerity budget.