France's government is almost certain to fall later this week after far-right and left-wing parties yesterday tabled motions of no confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Investors immediately punished French stocks and bonds as the latest developments plunged the euro zone's second-largest economy deeper into political crisis with serious doubts that the annual budget will be passed.
"The French are boiling over," the leader of the National Assembly (RN), Marine Le Pen, told reporters in parliament. She pointed out that Barnije, who became prime minister at the beginning of September, made things worse and that he must be replaced.
Barring a last-minute surprise, Barnier's fragile coalition will be the first French government to be ousted by a no-confidence vote since 1962.
Reuters reports that the fall of the government would leave a vacuum in the heart of Europe, while Germany is also in election mode, weeks before Donald Trump retakes the White House.
MPs from the RN and the left together have enough votes to topple Barnier, and Le Pen has confirmed that her party will vote for a motion of no confidence in the left-wing coalition, in addition to the RN proposal. That vote will probably be held tomorrow.
Those parties announced the no-confidence motions after Barnier said yesterday he would try to push the social security bill through parliament without a vote, after a last-minute concession was not enough to secure RN support for the bill.
"Faced with the denial of democracy for the umpteenth time, we will punish the government... We live in political chaos because of Barnier's government and the presidency of Emmanuel Macron," said Mathilde Panot from the left-wing France Unconquered party.
Barnije called on the deputies not to support the vote of no confidence.
ahead of the future of the country," he said, putting the fate of his government in the hands of a divided parliament, the result of snap elections without a clear winner that Macron called in June.
Since it was formed in September, the survival of Barnier's minority government has depended on the support of the RN. The draft budget law, which attempts to rein in France's growing public deficit through €60 billion in tax increases and spending cuts, severed that fragile link.
Barnier's team and Le Pen's camp accused each other, claiming that they had done everything they could to reach an agreement and were open to dialogue. A source close to Barnier said the prime minister had made major concessions to Le Pen and a vote to topple the government would mean losing those gains.
"Is she ready to sacrifice everything she has achieved?" a source close to Barnier told Reuters.
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