The French government is facing the risk of collapse after three major opposition parties announced they would not support a confidence vote that Prime Minister François Bayrou intends to hold on September 8 as part of his plan to implement sweeping budget cuts.
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The far-right National Rally Party, the Greens, and the Socialists—whose votes are crucial to Bayrou’s survival—said they see no reason to back him.
If Bayrou loses the vote of confidence in the National Assembly, his government will fall.
This uncertainty has alarmed investors, with France’s CAC 40 blue-chip index closing down 1.6%.
Macron’s Options
If the government falls, President Emmanuel Macron could immediately appoint a new prime minister, ask Bayrou to remain in charge of a caretaker government, or call for early elections.
Macron previously lost his last prime minister, Michel Barnier, in a no-confidence vote over the budget in late 2024—just three months after Barnier took office following another snap election in July of that year.
Bayrou acknowledged that seeking confidence from a highly divided parliament is a risky gamble.
“Yes, it is risky,” he said at a press conference, “but doing nothing is even riskier,” referring to what he described as the great danger posed by the country’s massive debt burden.
He added that the confidence vote would test whether he has enough parliamentary support to push through budget cuts of up to €44 billion ($51.51 billion), in an effort to curb the deficit, which reached 5.8% of GDP last year—nearly double the EU’s official limit of 3%.
