French lawmakers said they had introduced a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Monday, setting up a vote that could see the far right topple his government within days.
The motion was presented after Barnier attempted to pass part of his government’s budget for 2025, which includes 60 billion euros ($62.8 billion) worth of tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at bringing the deficit down to 5% next year and back in line with European rules by the end of the decade.
Barnier, who was tapped as the leader of a minority government backed by centrists and conservatives in September, attempted to enact the budget using a constitutional clause that allows him to bypass a vote in the legislature. However, that maneuver in turn grants lawmakers the opportunity table no-confidence motions against him – and lawmakers on the left, who have repeatedly vowed to bring down Barnier’s government, did just that.
A pre-debate vote is expected on Wednesday.
“This is one power grab too many by an illegitimate government,” Mathilde Panot, a left-wing lawmaker who has opposed Barnier’s government, wrote on social media.
She added a warning to French President Emmanuel Macron, writing: “We have tabled a motion of no confidence. Barnier’s downfall is a foregone conclusion. Macron will be next.”
Should the measure pass, it would throw France into political chaos. In the immediate term, the budget bill would be shot down and Barnier and his ministers would serve in a caretaker capacity until Macron named a new premier.
A government collapse would also frighten financial markets concerned whether Europe’s second-largest economy has both the fiscal discipline and political will to bring its finances in order. France’s budget deficit is slated to hit 6.1% of GDP in 2024, more than double the amount allowed by the European Commission.
Concerned investors have already deemed French credit almost as risky as that of Greece.
While Barnier’s budget has temporarily appeased both the markets and Brussels, it has drawn the ire of Marine Le Pen and her party, the far-right National Rally, who have vowed to join lawmakers on the left and take down Barnier unless he concedes to several of their demands – only some of which he has agreed to.
“We are going to support this no confidence vote because the French have had enough of being mistreated. They thought things would change with Barnier, but it’s worse,” Le Pen told reporters on Monday.
Le Pen last week gave Barnier a Monday deadline to respond to her party’s demands.