The government of Michel Barnier, Prime Minister of France, was overthrown this Wednesday (4), after Parliament approved a vote of no confidence.
This is the first French government to be defeated since 1962, and Barnier becomes the prime minister with the shortest term in the country’s history — he began his term three months ago.
This Tuesday’s vote united the left and the right. A total of 331 out of 577 legislators were in favor of the measure that overthrows the French government.
The cabinet is now expected to wait until President Emmanuel Macron appoints new leadership.
Macron appointed the prime minister to lead a minority government after a snap election that divided the French parliament.
The situation became unstable and appeared unsustainable on Monday (2), when Barnier was forced to use a risky constitutional mechanism that bypassed a vote on the 2025 Budget.
This allowed rival lawmakers on the left, who had long vowed to oust him, to call a confidence motion in response. Réunion National, a right-wing party led by Marine Le Pen, supported the measure this Wednesday.
When defending himself in the National Assembly this Wednesday, Barnier told parliamentarians that he was “not afraid”, but warned that removing him from power would make “everything more difficult”.
