Last-ditch talks between the French far right and Prime Minister François Bayrou did not achieve any breakthrough, its leaders said Tuesday, September 2, heightening the chances the centrist head of government will lose a confidence vote next week. Three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and her right-hand-man and Rassemblement National party leader Jordan Bardella urged swift snap legislative elections after the vote in parliament on Monday to end a months-long standoff over the budget.
"Jordan and I are calling for an extremely rapid dissolution" of the Assemblée Nationale, Le Pen said alongside Bardella after one hour of talks with Bayrou at his offices in Paris. "The sooner we return to the polls, the sooner France will have a budget," Bardella said, adding "no miracle" had come out of the meeting to change the party's mind.
Analysts expect Bayrou and his government to fall on Monday after just over half a year in office, with both the far right and left-wing parties vowing to vote against his minority administration. President Emmanuel Macron will then need to decide whether to reappoint Bayrou, choose a new premier who would be the seventh government chief of his presidency or cals snap legislative elections. Macron himself could also resign, as called for by the hard left, but he has repeatedly ruled out this course of action.
"The answer is simple: we don't have confidence [in Bayrou]," Le Pen said. "The only way for a prime minister to have a slightly longer lifespan would be to break with Macronism."