Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
French President Emmanuel Macron has come out against opposition parties he said “chose chaos” by ousting their prime minister in a historic no-confidence vote, vowing not to step down before the end of his term.
“The mandate that you democratically entrusted me with is a five-year mandate and I will carry it out fully until its end,” Macron said on Thursday in his first public address since ejection the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
“My responsibility requires that I ensure the continuity of the state, the proper functioning of our institutions, the independence of our country and the protection of all of you.”
Macron’s term runs until 2027, but he is facing increasing pressure from opposition groups to step down early. Now he must appoint a new head of government who will have to manage the same deeply divided parliament that toppled Barnier on Wednesday night.
The president said he would name a new prime minister “in the coming days” as he attacked the far-right Rassemblement National and the leftist Nouveau Front Populaire alliance. “They chose chaos,” he said, adding that they were only thinking “of the presidential elections: how to prepare for them, challenge them, hurry up.”
France’s parliament has been deadlocked since Macron called and lost snap legislative elections over the summer that left the parliament split between three groups — none of which has a clear majority. According to the French constitution, the president cannot call new parliamentary elections until next July at the earliest.
Barnier’s three-month term as prime minister was the shortest in the history of France’s Fifth Republic, and the no-confidence vote over drastic budget cuts was only the second to topple an administration since 1958.
The next government will still have to pass a budget before the end of the year deadline. Macron said a special finance bill would be submitted to parliament by mid-December to ensure “the continuity of public services and the life of the country. . . until a majority appears in the parliament” to rule.
Barnier’s administration fell without passing a controversial 2025 budget, which included a 60 billion euro package of tax increases and spending cuts aimed at reducing the deficit from more than 6 percent this year to around 5 percent next year.
The decline was largely due to the RN following through on its threats to vote against him if not all “red lines” of the far-right party on the budget have been met — despite some last-minute concessions from Barnier.
Deep divisions in parliament will continue to complicate budget debates, as well as complicate the election of a new prime minister who can ensure political stability
Macron must now decide whether to rebuild a similar alliance with Barnier’s party, Les Républicains, or try to create a new configuration. Centrist politicians from Macron’s camp have tried to persuade moderate-left parties to break with the far-left La France Insoumise, but so far these initiatives have been rejected.
The LFI has promised to “automatically censor” any prime minister who is not from the left. RN leader Marine Le Pen said on Thursday that her party will oppose any prime minister from the left. “There will be no Prime Minister from the Nouveau Front Populaire,” she told CNews on Thursday.
Macron thanked Barnier, a veteran right-wing politician and the EU’s lead Brexit negotiator, for his service. The former prime minister resigned earlier on Thursday but was asked to stay on as an interim official until Macron names his successor.
