Barnier latest: French prime minister resigns after vote of no-confidence

Thousands of public sector workers are on strike across France today as the country battles against a deepening political crisis.

Earlier, we saw images of protesters in Marseille demonstrating “for a quality public service” (see 12.10 post).

There are similar scenes in Paris, where demonstrators have gathered to march across the capital.

Michel Barnier has submitted his resignation as France’s prime minister.

The politician lost a vote of no-confidence in his government yesterday.

He headed to the Elysee Palace this morning, leaving after an hour-long meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Barnier and his government will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is nominated, the Elysee said in a statement.

The leader of the green Ecologists party has warned Emmanuel Macron not to appoint a new prime minister during his address to the nation this evening.

The president received Michel Barnier at the Elysee Palace this morning, where the prime minister was expected to resign.

Macron is reportedly keen to appoint a successor to Barnier quickly, ideally before Saturday’s ceremony to reopen the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Speaking to TF1, Marine Tondelier says she fears that Macron will announce a new PM “in a hurry to corner everyone”, but for her, “that would be a failure”.

The head of state “must not appoint a prime minister this evening”, she insists.

Emmanuel Macron has spoken for the first time today, but not about the political crisis engulfing France.

Instead, the president has been commenting on the Mercosur trade deal – a pact between the EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil and Argentina.

“The draft agreement between the EU and Mercosur is unacceptable in its current form” a statement from the Elysee Palace said, adding that Macron had relayed the comments to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We will continue to tirelessly defend our agricultural sovereignty.”

European farmers have repeatedly protested against the deal, saying it will lead to cheap imports of South American commodities, notably beef, which is not subject to the same safety standards as in the EU.

The leaders of France’s Socialist Party have called on Emmanuel Macron to meet party leaders and presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate to find a way out of the current political crisis.

The Socialist Party joined the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance during the summer legislative elections, with the general aim of keeping right-wing groups away from power.

The NFP won 182 seats, more than any other bloc, but not enough to form a majority government.

More than half of middle and high school teachers in France are on strike today to send a “clear message to a future government”, the main union of secondary schools has said.

Posting on X, it said: “Anger is strong. Whatever the government, no to waiting days, yes to a salary increase and better working conditions. Enough of the contempt!”

Industrial action, mainly in the public sector, is taking place across the country today (see 9.55 post).

Nearly one in three teachers are on strike, according to figures from the education ministry.

Emmanuel Macron will meet Francois Bayrou at the Elysee Palace for lunch today, according to French newspaper Le Parisien.

The centrist politician has been tipped to be among the contenders to replace Michel Barnier as prime minister.

A prominent political figure, Mr Bayrou is a key ally of Macron, having helped him win the presidency in 2017 and 2022.

He has been the head of the centrist Democratic Movement party since its founding in 2007.

Mr Bayrou is said to be respected by a majority of MPs, including on the far-right National Rally side.

Emmanuel Macron is in an “increasingly uncomfortable situation” as more and more people press him to resign as president, says political analyst Francois Valentin.

Mr Macron has said he will not stand down, labelling such demands as “political fiction” and “nonsensical”.

But Mr Valentin says pressure will continue to mount on the president, who has been criticised heavily for calling parliamentary elections in the summer that led to a hung parliament.

“Constitutionally, it doesn’t mean anything” he tells Euronews.

“He’s not responsible in front of parliament, so he could continue having a new prime minister every six months without consequences.

“Politically, however, he’s in an increasingly uncomfortable situation. He’s the one who, completely on his own and without telling his allies, decided to dissolve parliament. He lost nearly half of his parliamentary support and damaged his relationship with his MPs.

“If the deadlock continues, more and more people will try to press him to resign to break the Gordian knot by providing a democratic solution out of this.

“It’s currently very unlikely, but the pressure will mount.”

A “soft-left non-party politician” would be a good fit to be the new prime minister, a professor of European Politics tells Sky News.

Emmanuel Macron is set to choose a new PM to succeed Michel Barnier afte a successful vote of no-confidence against his government yesterday.

Finding a suitable candidate that will have the support of a divided National Assembly is unlikely.

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance has vowed to table a new no-confidence motion against any PM that does not come from their ranks, with the group holding the most seats in the Assembly.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (NR) and Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance are the other two major blocs in the Assembly.

“Having tried a centre-right politician (Barnier), Macron might choose someone from the left who can cobble together a left-wing and centrist majority, as the left bloc had demanded in July,” says Professor Robert Ladrech of Keele University.

He added: “There is some sentiment among centre-left MPs to propose a set of key policies that many – NFP and Ensemble – could agree on just to make it to the summer, when Macron could call new elections.

“A centrist politician agreeable to centre-left and centre-right MPs, or a ‘soft-left non-party politician’ might fit this bill.

“This scenario would leave Le Pen and NR as the official opposition, which she may find suits her for a summer 2025 parliamentary election as well as the 2027 presidential election.”

Michel Barnier has left the Elysee Palace after a one-hour meeting with Emmanuel Macron.

Although there has been no comment from the palace, Barnier was expected to hand in his resignation to Macron after his government was toppled by a no-confidence vote.

The palace will now see a flurry of ministers arrive, including the leader of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, who is expected to turn up at 12.15pm local time (11.15am UK time).

The president of the Senate, Gerard Larcher, will then be received at 3pm (2pm UK time).

Macron will then address the nation this evening at 8pm (7pm UK time).

Despite the resignation of the government and the rejection of the social security and state budget projects, public sector unions are maintaining their calls for workers to strike today.

Disruption is expected to hit several sectors across France, including schools, government offices, hospitals, and airports.

Among those joining calls for industrial action are air traffic controllers, leading to some flights being cancelled at four of France’s busiest airports.

The strikes were called in retaliation to budget cuts planned in the 2025 finance bill, which would include cutting sick pay for civil servants.

Emmanuel Macron must resign next year to allow for an early presidential election in June, says the former leader of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

Jean-Francois Cope told Franceinfo there was “no point” in Macron resigning immediately, but that the president could not see out his term as he has said he will.

“We’re not going to be able to keep going like this until 2027,” said Cope, who now represents the Republicans.

“We cannot dissolve for a year. So there is no point in the president leaving now. But during an early presidential election, there are about 40 days of presidential campaign.

“If the president accepts that everything is blocked and that the goal in life is not to stay in power, to the detriment of the country’s interest, he resigns.”

Cope admitted that Macron “modernised France and strengthened the country’s attractiveness” during his first term as president.

However, by dissolving the National Assembly this year, he also “broke everything in one evening, with a whim, all by himself.”

“It was not a small tactical error that he committed, he brought the country to its knees,” he added.

Michel Barnier is heading to the Elysee Palace.

He is expected to hand his resignation to Emmanuel Macron after the vote of no-confidence passed against his government yesterday.

In doing so, he will become the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic.

The president of the National Assembly has called the fall of the government a “collective failure” on France.

Yael Braun-Pivet, who belongs to Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, told France Inter this morning that a replacement for Michel Barnier must now be found quickly.

“We have not managed to dialogue enough, to build enough together. But it has to be done,” she said.

“We now have to find the means to bring stability, to provide the country with a budget. We must not waste time.”

Almost two-thirds of French people say they are in favour of Emmanuel Macron resigning as president, according to a new poll.

A Toluna-Harris interactive survey for French outlet RTL, conducted hours after Michel Barnier’s government lost a vote of no-confidence, saw 64% of respondents call for Macron to step down.

That desire was most pronounced among supporters of the hard-left La France Insoumise party (94%) and the far-right National Rally (85%).

A small majority of the people polled (53%) said they approved of the no-confidence vote, but 82% said they were worried about the future of France in general.

A similar figure (81%) said they are worried about the French economy, while 80% said they are worried about the increase in the public deficit.

It’s been reported that Emmanuel Macron might name a new prime minister very quickly.

One source told the Reuters news agency he wanted to name a premier before a ceremony to reopen the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Saturday.

Any new PM will face the same challenges Michel Barnier did in getting any bills adopted by a fractured parliament, with the next set of parliamentary elections unable to be called until July.

Two names are being tipped as the early contenders for the job.

Sebastien Lecornu

Incumbent defence minister Sebastien Lecornu is a Macron loyalist and was quickly suggested as a potential replacement for Barnier.

He has held the position in the governments of successive prime ministers Michel Barnier, Elisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal since 2022.

Francois Bayrou

A prominent political figure, centrist Francois Bayrou was a candidate for the presidential elections in 2002, 2007 and 2012.

He is another key ally of Macron, who he helped win the presidency in 2017 and 2022.

In addition, Bayrou has been the head of the centrist Democratic Movement party since its founding in 2007.

The deputy of the hard-left La France Insoumise party says Emmanuel Macron’s departure is the “the only solution to bring back stability” to the country.

The president has insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027 rather than resign following yesterday’s vote of no-confidence in the government.

“We are facing a situation of instability,” Manuel Bompard told RTL France this morning.

“I do not see, given the configuration of the National Assembly and the inability to compromise, a stable situation emerging.”

Posting on X about the political instability, Bompard said there was a “democratic problem” with Macron appointing his allies as prime minister.

“The Macronists lost the European elections. They lost the legislative elections. And yet, Emmanuel Macron is considering appointing a Macronist again. There is a democratic problem.”

A former government minister and candidate for the presidency says she’s written to Emmanuel Macron to offer herself as Michel Barnier’s replacement as prime minister.

Segolene Royal said she was “available” for the role shortly after Barnier’s government lost a vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly last night.

“I owe it to all women and girls,” she said.

Royal previously offered herself as a candidate for PM in August, prior to the appointment of Barnier.

She became the first woman in France to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major party in 2007, reaching the second round before losing to Nicolas Sarkozy.

She has previously served as environment minister in the 1990s and most recently energy minister from 2014-2017.

The euro was subdued this morning but is still hovering close to its two-year low as traders brace for further political instability in France.

Both the euro and French government bond futures have stayed relatively stable, with the passing of last night’s no-confidence vote in the government widely expected by traders.

But with no parliamentary elections able to take place in the country until at least July, economists and analysts remain wary of France’s market volatility.

Mathieu Savary, a chief investment strategist at BCA research, said “paralysis will remain the dominant feature of French politics for the next two years”.

“The odds that France is downgraded (by a credit rating agency) are rising,” he added.

Nick Rees, a senior FX market analyst at Monex Europe, said he was amazed that the euro hasn’t moved much: “The French government has collapsed. It should be lower.”

“There are two major powers in Europe, France and Germany, both of which right now are emasculated,” he said.

When asked if the European Central Bank would step in to help France should market turbulence intensify, the central bank’s president, Christine Lagarde, would only say that financial stability was a relevant factor in price stability.

Michel Barnier is expected to submit his resignation to Emmanuel Macron, the president, this morning after the vote of no-confidence in his government last night.

The prime minister is expected at the Elysee Palace at 10am local time (9am UK time), according to France’s BFMTV.

Macron will then address the nation in a televised speech this evening.

He will give a televised speech at 7pm local time (6pm UK time), according to the Elysee presidential palace.