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Jordan Bardella, the party chief of France’s Rassemblement National party, said on Monday that the party would not hesitate to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s minority government over a draft austerity budget.
Ahead of a key vote in the National Assembly expected on Monday afternoon, negotiations between Barnier and the RN to find a compromise appeared deadlocked, raising the risk that the government could fall as early as this week.
The fate of the budget and the fate of the Barnier administration remains largely in the hands RNthe largest single party and a key voting bloc in the National Assembly.
“The RN will trigger a condemnation vote unless a miracle happens at the last minute and Barnier changes his bill between now and 3 p.m.,” Bardella told RTL radio on Monday.
“I am not hopeful that he will do so given how he has ignored and scorned us (and our proposals) in recent months.”
RN leader Marine Le Pen insisted that all “red line” demands must be met if the government is to avoid a no-confidence vote.
Investors have grown increasingly concerned about the fate of the draft budget, which includes 60 billion euros in tax increases and spending cuts that Barnier said are needed to reduce the country’s debt pile.
The euro weakened 0.5 percent against the dollar in early trading on Monday.
This is a developing story
