The French far right, led by Marine Le Pen, on Monday, November 18, stepped up threats it could bring down the shaky government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a move that would plunge the country into political chaos. Barnier is "creating all the conditions for a no-confidence motion and is adding to them day by day," the deputy president of Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN) Sébastien Chenu told Europe 1 radio.
The RN emerged as the single largest party following this summer's snap parliamentary elections called by President Emmanuel Macron in which no party or bloc won an overall majority. Macron and Barnier, a right-winger, managed to cobble a minority right-wing government. But it could be ejected if the RN teams up with the left, which forms the largest single bloc after the election. The left-wing coalition has made clear it is eager to topple the government but the RN has adopted a wait-and-see approach that analysts see as a "sword of Damocles" hanging over Barnier.
But with the government likely to enrage the opposition by using a controversial constitutional article to push through budget legislation without a vote, such a no-confidence motion could now come before the Christmas break.
"This budget will impact the French, we are not going to resolve anything and therefore it is a very bad budget," said Chenu. "I am arguing for us to be able to have a no-confidence motion," he said, stressing the final decision lay with Le Pen, who leads the RN group in the Assemblée Nationale.
The issue comes at a critical time for three-time presidential candidate Le Pen who fancies having her best-ever crack at the Elysée election due in 2027. Le Pen, 56, and other RN defendants are currently on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament, which they deny.
If convicted, she could receive a jail sentence and a ban from public office which would disqualify her from the presidential polls. Le Pen responded by saying prosecutors wanted her "political death" and adding that she was being put on trial as a "political target."
The politically loaded trial has even sparked unease. Former interior minister Gérald Darmanin has said Le Pen "should be beaten at the ballot box, and not elsewhere," but he was criticized by his allies who accused him of questioning the rule of law.
Le Pen's young lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 29, who is the RN party chief, is not among the accused. He has just published his first book Ce que je cherche ("What I am Looking For") describing growing up in the Paris suburbs and his political vision.
RN officials are aware of the risks of such a move, given the party could then be blamed by the French for months of grinding crisis. France's constitution dictates there must be at least a year between elections, so snap polls are ruled out. "It's not something we are going to do for fun," said one RN official, asking not to be named. "Who would be the new prime minister? What would be different?"