Collapse of the Barnier government
.jpg) Michel Barnier (LR) | |
| Date | 4 December 2024 |
|---|---|
| Type | Political crisis |
| Cause | Disagreements over the 2025 government budget resulting in a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier |
| Participants | Barnier government Emmanuel Macron New Popular Front National Rally |
On 4 December 2024, the Barnier government in France headed by Michel Barnier of The Republicans collapsed following a successful vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. Part of an extended political crisis, the vote of no confidence was the first to pass since 1962 and resulted in Barnier's government being the shortest serving in the history of the French Fifth Republic.
Collapse
[edit]2025 budget proposal
[edit]In mid-October 2024, Barnier presented his government's proposal for the 2025 government budget to the National Assembly. Focused on reducing the budget deficit, the proposal included a wide range of austerity measures, including forty billion euros of spending cuts and twenty billion euros of tax increases.[1]
The budget proposal received significant criticism from the left, with Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure accusing Barnier of "turning towards the far-right to avoid a no-confidence vote."[2]
On 2 December, Barnier invoked Article 49.3 of the French Constitution in order to enact the budget proposal without a formal vote by the National Assembly. This meant that the only way to block the budget was for lawmakers to adopt a motion of no confidence in the government, pursuant to the provisions of the Article. The New Popular Front formally introduced such a motion later the same day.[3]
Debate
[edit]The motion was debated on 4 December.
In his closing remarks, Barnier claimed that it had been "an honor for me to have served France and the French with dignity" and that a no confidence vote would "make everything more serious and more difficult."[4]
Vote
[edit]| Motion of no confidence | ||
| Ballot → | 4 December 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 288 out of 575 
| |
331 / 573
| ||
| Abstentions or absentees[a] | 244 / 575
| |
| Source | ||
Ultimately, 331 deputies, a majority of the National Assembly, voted for no confidence in the government.[5]
All La France Insoumise and The Ecologists deputies voted in favour of non-confidence. All Socialist Party deputies except for Sophie Pantel, who didn't participate, voted in favour. 123 of the 124 National Rally deputies voted in favour (with Sophie Blanc not participating in the vote), as did all UDR deputies.
Caledonian Union deputy Emmanuel Tjibaou did not participate.[6]
Aftermath
[edit]On 5 December, over 130,000 public sector workers held a one-day strike in protest against Barnier's budget proposal, with the aim of warning Macron that doubling-down on the proposed austerity measures would cause further unrest.[7]
At 19:00 that day, Macron gave a televised speech addressing the government's collapse.[8] In the speech, Macron vowed to stay in office until the end of his term in 2027, to name a new prime minister shortly, and to present an emergency law to ensure taxes could still be collected and a government shutdown avoided in the new year. He also accused the National Rally and the New Popular Front of uniting in an "anti-republican front," saying that "they chose disorder."[9]
Reactions
[edit]Financial
[edit]Moody's Ratings warned that the government's collapse "deepens the country's political stalemate" and "reduces the probability of a consolidation of public finances."[10]
Political commentators
[edit]Author Éric Brunet described the collapse as "jaw-droppingly French," saying that there was "no pragmatism. Just ideology. All the speeches were about values, about extremes. Our whole discourse is disconnected from reality."[11] Simon Toubeau of the University of Nottingham described the collapse as a "persistence of the competitive and majoritarian instincts of France's politicians that engendered this crisis," adding that while Macron was "content to partner with the others to keep the RN out of power, these noble sentiments evaporated when it came to governing."[12]
Politicians
[edit]Republican politician and minister of the interior in the Barnier government Bruno Retailleau stated that the right "cannot make a compromise with the left" in forming a new government.[13]
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen stated that she did not want Macron to resign, but called on him to "respect the voice of voters and show respect for political forces and respect for elections."[5]
Senator Anne Souyris of The Ecologists stated that the collapse proved that Macron "has not taken stock of what is happening" in France.[14]
Unions and NGOs
[edit]General Confederation of Labour secretary general Sophie Binet claimed that Macron's "supply-side policy is leading us into a wall. It is a catastrophe, an economic and social disaster."[14]
Notes
[edit]- ^ In the French National Assembly, motions of no confidence are voted on by open ballot, with only those in favor of the motion taking part in the vote. Since a majority of the entire membership is required, those who are absent or do not cast a ballot are de facto voting against.
References
[edit]- ^ "French PM Barnier unveils deficit-slashing 2025 budget". France24. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ "" Il aura la censure qu'il mérite " : vives réactions à gauche face aux annonces de Barnier sur l'aide médicale d'Etat". Le Nouvel Obs. 28 November 2024. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Millar, Paul (2 December 2024). "Why the French government is headed for collapse". France24. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Nouvian, Tom (4 December 2024). "French lawmakers vote to oust prime minister in the first successful no-confidence vote since 1962". AP News. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ a b Walker, Amy (5 December 2024). "French government collapses in no-confidence vote". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Moisset, Benjamin (5 December 2024). "Motion de censure : votre député a-t-il voté pour renverser le gouvernement ?". Le Nouvel Obs. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ "Journée de grève et de mobilisation dans la fonction publique en France". France24. 5 December 2024. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Macron, Emmanuel (5 December 2024). "Adresse aux Français". Élysée. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ "Macron blames alliance of 'extreme left and extreme right' for fall of French government". France24. 5 December 2024. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ "Macron hunts for new French PM after lawmakers topple Barnier government". France24. 5 December 2024. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Schofield, Hugh (5 December 2024). "Barnier downfall threatens to set a pattern for what lies ahead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Toubeau, Simon (5 December 2024). "Why did the French government fall and what happens next?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ "Nouveau Premier ministre : Retailleau affirme que " la droite ne pourra faire aucun compromis avec la gauche "". Le Nouvel Obs. 6 December 2024. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ a b Chadwick, Lauren (5 December 2024). "Civil servants in France go on strike after no-confidence vote topples government". Euronews. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
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