President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, August 27, gave his "full support" to France's embattled prime minister, who has called a confidence vote that could see his government collapse next month. Prime Minister François Bayrou said he would request the confidence vote in a bitterly divided parliament on September 8, as he tries to garner enough support for his plan to slash spending.
But the main opposition parties said they would not back the prime minister's plan, with the far-right urging Macron to call new parliamentary elections and the hard-left saying the president himself must go.
Macron, now on his sixth prime minister since taking office in 2017, chaired a meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday. The president has given his "full support" to Bayrou's initiative, spokeswoman Sophie Primas told reporters after the meeting. Macron also called on France's political parties "to act responsibly," Primas added.
The French president is weighing his options as he seeks to contain the looming political crisis. If the government falls after the September 8 vote, he could appoint a new prime minister, dissolve parliament again or resign. Macron gambled on snap polls last summer in a bid to head off the far-right and bolster his authority, but the move backfired and left a deadlocked parliament.
Even some members of Macron's camp now believe calling new elections might be the only solution. "No one wants it, but it is inevitable," a senior member of the presidential team told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity. The president has said he wants to avoid dissolving parliament again but has also suggested he could not rule out the option.
"There is only one way out of this political impasse we find ourselves in, and that is to return to the polls," Jordan Bardella, head of the far-right National Rally party, told TF1 on Tuesday evening.
The government has been facing discontent from the left and the right, with critics accusing the authorities of failing to take decisive action on issues like the spiraling cost of living, immigration and crime.
Separately, a broad anti-government campaign dubbed "Bloquons tout" ("Let's block everything") has acted as a lightning rod for other criticisms, including a lack of action on the environment. The movement has been backed by the left, which has urged a nationwide shutdown on September 10.
After years of overspending, France is on notice to control its public deficit and cut its sprawling debt, as required under EU rules. Bayrou's government and economic analysts have warned that France's debt is unsustainable, particularly as interest rate rises push up the cost of borrowing. Bayrou said he wanted to save about 44 billion euros ($51 billion) with measures that include reducing the number of public holidays and placing a freeze on spending increases. In mid-July, he presented 2026 budget proposals but the measures have proved deeply unpopular.