In France, the government of PM Michel Barnier, formed 3 months ago, fell on Wednesday. The French Parliament passed a no-confidence motion against PM Barnier's government. Now he has to hand in his resignation to President Macron along with his entire cabinet.
This is the first time in France's 62-year history that a prime minister has lost power due to the passage of a no-confidence motion in parliament.
A no-confidence motion tabled by the leftist NFP coalition in parliament was voted in favor of 331 votes, while only 288 votes were enough to pass the motion.
Conservative leader Barnier, who was appointed just 3 months ago, may resign on Thursday. He is considered to be the shortest-serving prime minister in French history.
Barnier said in his last speech before the motion of no confidence – It is an honor for me to serve France and the French.
Barnier was the Brexit negotiator on behalf of the European Union. He was appointed Prime Minister by Macron on 5 September.
Why a motion of no confidence against Barnier, 5 points…
- No single party has a majority in the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament. There are 3 parties in this. Macron's centrist alliance, the left-wing New Popular Front and the right-wing National Rally.
- The leftist New Popular Front and the rightist National Rally are currently in opposition. The two are usually opposed to each other, but both sides came together in a no-confidence motion.
- Barnier recently presented a new budget. In this he decided to increase the tax.
- Normally in France, the budget can be passed after a vote in the National Assembly, but Barnier passed and implemented the budget without a vote.
- The left-wing New Popular Front and the right-wing National Rally united in opposition. He brought a motion of no confidence against Barnier, which also passed.
Macron now has to choose a new PM According to the French constitution, Macron will have to appoint a new PM after Barnier's resignation, as France only holds elections in July 2024. In such a situation, elections cannot be held till July 2025. Currently, no single party has a majority in the National Assembly. Due to this, political instability in France may increase further.
Barnier was the Brexit negotiator in the European Union
- Barnier, 73, hails from France's Alpine region of Haute-Savoie. He was the chief negotiator in the talks on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.
- Barnier first became an MP at the age of 27 and later held roles in several French governments, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Agriculture.
- He stayed away from French politics for 15 years before being appointed Prime Minister. He spends most of his time at the European Union headquarters in Brussels.
France has two houses like India Like India, France also has two houses of parliament. The upper house of Parliament is called the Senate and the lower house is called the National Assembly. Members of the National Assembly are elected by the general public, while members of the Senate are elected by the members and officers of the National Assembly.
France holds separate elections for the President and the National Assembly. In such a situation, even if no party has majority in the parliament, the leader of that party can win the presidential election. The same thing happened to Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 election. He won the presidential election, but his coalition did not get a majority in the National Assembly.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
