After the overthrow of the French government, Macron will name a new Prime Minister soon – nationally
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Thursday to remain in office until the end of his term, which is due to end in 2027, and announced he would appoint a new prime minister within days in an effort to end the political stalemate following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Macron came out fighting a day after a no-confidence vote sparked by budget disputes in the National Assembly left France without a functioning government. He laid the blame at the door of his opponents on the right to bring down Barnier’s government.
“They choose distraction,” he said.
The president said that the right and the left are united in what he called the “anti-Republican front” and emphasized: “I will not carry other people’s burdens.”
He said he would name a new prime minister within days but did not reveal who that would be.
Earlier in the day, Macron “noticed” Barnier’s resignation after just three months in office – the shortest period of time for any prime minister in modern French history.
Macron accepts his own responsibility
While criticizing his political opponents, Macron also acknowledged what he described as his own personal responsibility for the turmoil rocking French politics and panicking financial markets.
He also revised his decision in June to dissolve parliament. That exacerbated the crisis, leading to legislative elections that produced a hung parliament, divided between three small blocs without enough seats to govern alone.
“I see that this decision is not right. Many criticized me for it,” said Macron. However, he argued, “I believe it was necessary” to let the French voters speak.
The next priority is to pass the budget law
Macron said the new prime minister “will be charged with building a government of general interest.”
He confirmed that a special law will be introduced in mid-December so that the state can levy taxes from January 1, based on this year’s laws, and avoid a shutdown.
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“Government services will work, businesses will be able to work,” he said.
The new government will then prepare legislation for the 2025 budget, which will allow France to invest as planned in its military, justice and police – as well as support for struggling farmers, Macron said.
How to find the ‘impossible’
As well as its domestic political and financial problems – not least France’s debt levels – Macron noted that the country faces many international challenges, citing the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
He also looked back at the Paris Olympics in July-August and ahead of this weekend’s reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, saying France can get out of this latest political crisis if it puts its mind to it.
“It is proof that we are capable of doing great things, that we know how to achieve the impossible,” he said.
“It’s twice this year, the world is interested in this,” he said, talking about the hosting of the Olympics and the restoration of Notre Dame. “Well, as a nation, we have to do the same thing.”
Macron faces the difficult task of naming a successor to Barnier who will be able to lead a minority government in parliament where no party has a majority. Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly and a member of Macron’s party, urged the president to speed up.
“I recommend that he quickly decide on a new prime minister,” Braun-Pivet said Thursday on French radio station Inter. “There should be no doubt in politics. We need a leader who can talk to everyone and work to pass a new budget bill.”
The process can be challenging. French media have reported a short list of candidates who may appeal to both sides of the political spectrum.
It calls for Macron to step down
The vote of no confidence has strengthened the leaders of the opposition parties, some of whom are calling for Macron to step down.
“I believe that stability requires the departure of the President of the Republic,” said Manuel Bompard, leader of the French left-wing group Unbowed, on BFM TV Wednesday night.
The leader of the far-right National Rally Marine Le Pen, whose party has the most seats in the National Assembly, stopped short of calling for Macron to step down but warned that “the pressure on the President of the Republic will be stronger and stronger.”
The French constitution does not state that the president must resign after his government is dismissed by the National Assembly. It also says new legislative elections will not be held until at least July, prompting policymakers to intervene.
Economic uncertainty is increasing
The political instability has raised concerns about the French economy, especially its debt, which could rise to 7% of GDP next year without significant changes.
Analysts say the decline of Barnier’s government could raise interest rates in France, driving up debt.
Ratings agency Moody’s warned on Wednesday that the collapse of the government “reduces the possibility of mobilizing public funds” and worsens the political situation.
The teachers’ protest is about politics
A planned protest by teachers against education budget cuts took a new tone on Thursday, as protesters in Paris linked their demands to the political crisis.
“Macron stop!” read the sign held by Dylan Quenon, a 28-year-old middle school teacher in Aubervilliers, just north of Paris.
Quenon said Macron was responsible for what he described as the dismantling of public services such as schools. “The way this will change is for him to step down,” he said.
Protesters expressed little hope that Macron’s next appointee would reverse course.
“I’m glad this government is falling, but it could lead to worse,” said Élise De La Gorce, a 33-year-old teacher in Stain, north of Paris.
