French Prime Minister resigns amid political crisis

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to resign on December 5 after his government was ousted by far-right and far-left lawmakers in a vote of no confidence.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier will go down in history as the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history. (Source: Reuters)

The move has plunged France into its second major political crisis in six months.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is a veteran politician and former Chief Brexit Negotiator of the European Union (EU). Now, Mr. Barnier will go down in history as the Prime Minister with the shortest term in modern French history (from September to December 2024).

This is also the first time since 1962 that a French government has lost the confidence of parliament .

Mr Barnier's defeat stemmed from approving a controversial budget without a vote in parliament.

The draft budget aims to cut 60 billion euros ($63.07 billion) to narrow the huge deficit, but has faced fierce opposition from both the far right and the far left.

In particular, Marine Le Pen's National Rally party criticized the budget measures as being too harsh on workers.

Mr Barnier's resignation was the "last straw" in weeks of tensions surrounding the budget issue, and further damaged the reputation of President Emmanuel Macron.

In addition, Mr. Macron's decision to hold early elections ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics is considered the main cause of this crisis.

However, despite facing many calls to resign, Mr. Macron still maintains power with a term that lasts until 2027 and cannot be forced out of office.

France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, despite its constitution allowing for extraordinary measures to avoid a US-style paralysis.

The political crisis in France has also further weakened the EU, which was already suffering from the collapse of Germany's coalition government and the complicated situation before US President-elect Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Mr Trump is scheduled to arrive in Paris on December 7 for the inauguration of the restored Notre Dame Cathedral. President Macron hopes to appoint a new prime minister before the event.

The prolonged political turmoil has raised concerns among investors about French government bonds and stocks. Earlier this week, France's borrowing costs even surpassed those of Greece, which is considered much riskier.

The new prime minister, if appointed, would face similar challenges to Mr Barnier in passing legislation, including the 2025 budget, with a deeply divided parliament.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thu-tuong-phap-tu-chuc-giua-con-bao-khung-hoang-chinh-tri-296263.html