The French National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion on Wednesday, effectively toppling the current government.
A total of 331 MPs voted in favor of the motion, exceeding the required 288 votes. The vote came shortly after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in September.
Barnier is now expected to resign after just three months in the job. The Conservative Party leader becomes the shortest-serving prime minister in French history.
“This mission may end soon, but I can say that it remains an honor for me to have served France and its people with dignity,” Barnier said shortly before the vote.
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French Prime Minister Michel Barnier arrived at Impact PME, a gathering of small and medium-sized enterprises, to give a speech in Paris on November 28, 2024. (Lemon Hazen/Getty Images)
Macron intends to serve until the end of his term in 2027, despite pressure from both sides to resign. If he continues in office, a new prime minister will need to be appointed for the second time.
The vote of no confidence, triggered by a budget dispute, was the result of far-right and far-left French parliamentarians uniting against the current government.
In the parliamentary elections held in July, the centrist Ensemble Coalition lost a majority of seats to the New Popular Front Left Alliance, significantly changing the power relationship in parliament.
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French Prime Minister Michel Barnier speaks before the vote of no confidence in his government at the National Assembly in Paris on December 4, 2024. (Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images)
In a post on X published on Wednesday, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen expressed her desire to work with the next prime minister.
“We have been constructive from the beginning and will work with the next prime minister who will be asked to propose a new budget,” Le Pen’s post, translated into English, read. “What we want is for voters to be respected and their demands to be heard.”
The far-right politician also denied explicitly calling on Mr Macron to resign.
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he leaves the Museum of Malaya in Saudi Arabia on December 4, 2024. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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“On the other hand, if we do not follow a path that respects voters and elections, there will come a time when the pressure on the president of the republic will increase,” she said. “This decision is his.”
