SLP, Mexico.- French deputies have voted in favor of the dismissal of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, appointed by the president Emmanuel Macron in September. This is the first time since 1962 that a French government has fallen following a vote of no confidence.
The left-wing PFN coalition and the right-wing National Rally party (RN) voted against the former chief Brexit negotiator after Barnier appealed to article 49.3 of the Constitution to have the social security budget plan for 2025 approved without subjecting it to parliamentary vote, according to the media report Infobae.
At 73 years old, Barnier is the oldest politician to hold the position of Prime Minister in the modern history of France and the one who has served the shortest time, having only been in office for 91 days.
#BREAKING French deputies approve motion of censure and overthrow the French government pic.twitter.com/t0n9LiOjAt
— Agence France-Presse (@AFPespanol) December 4, 2024
According to the agency France 24the motion of censure was approved with 331 of the 574 parliamentarians. Barnier could hand in his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron in the next few hours.
The two opposition blocs in France’s National Assembly, usually at odds, united against Barnier, accusing him of imposing austerity measures and failing to address the needs of citizens.
“We have reached the moment of truth,” said the leader of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, at the beginning of the debate on the motion of censure.
No prime minister had been dismissed by a parliamentary vote of no confidence in France since Georges Pompidou in 1962.
According to the French Constitution, new elections cannot be held until next summer, one year after the last legislative ones.
France 24 stated that Macron could appoint Barnier’s replacement on Saturday, coinciding with the meeting in Paris of high-level guests, including the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, for the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral.
