Francois Bayrou loses confidence vote, will tender resignation
Officially confirmed.
For 194
AGAINST 364
Key events
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Bayrou’s fall and a divided parliament hardly offer the stability Macron needs – snap analysis
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Bayrou to submit resignation on Tuesday morning, government says
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Another alternative is on the left, Vallaud says after Bayrou’s government falls
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Expected result, but still a big moment with focus now on Macron – snap analysis
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Francois Bayrou loses confidence vote, will tender resignation
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Vote on Bayrou’s government under way – in pictures
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Bayrou closes debate as vote on confidence in his government about to get under way
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Le Pen urges Macron to dissolve parliament, call snap election
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Le Pen blasts Bayrou’s government, decades of alleged mismanagement of public affairs
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Norway heads to the polls in highly polarised ‘Maga-fication’ election
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Vallaud says Macron ‘a defeated president’ and no-confidence vote is ‘a cop-out’ by Bayrou
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French vote of confidence – in pictures
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Bayrou says lawmakers face ‘not a political, but historical question’ on future of France
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French debate on vote of confidence begins
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EU expected to propose new sanctions package on Russia by Friday
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ‘just the start,’ Germany’s Merz warns
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RN to vote against Bayrou, Bardella confirms as he calls for fresh elections
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Le Pen’s appeal on EU funds conviction to be heard in January 2026
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‘Block Everything’ movement highlights unsettled situation in France
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French confidence vote does not threaten euro zone stability, Germany says
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Opposition parties make it clear they will vote against Bayrou’s government – analysis
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Opening: Bye-rou?
Bayrou’s fall and a divided parliament hardly offer the stability Macron needs – snap analysis
Angelique Chrisafis
in Paris
Since Macron’s gamble of calling a snap election last June, the parliament remains divided between three groups – the left, the centre and the far right – none of which has a majority. This has created deadlock on economic policy and divisions over the most basic political task: setting a budget for 2026.
Bayrou fell because of his unpopular austerity budget to curb public debt. France must now urgently agree a budget for next year. But there is no certainty that any new prime minister chosen by Macron could achieve budget consensus or indeed escape being similarly ousted. Bayrou lasted barely nine months and, before him, the rightwing Michel Barnier was toppled after only three.
Even if Macron were to call another snap election – which is not his favoured choice with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally leading in the polls – parliament could probably remain just as divided and deadlocked, without a clear majority.
Macron, whose presidency runs until 2027, might now chose a prime minister closer to the centre-left. But that would be difficult because the president refuses to budge on his economic agenda, dating from 2017, which has included tax cuts on businesses, scrapping the wealth tax and raising the pension age. All of these the Socialists want to roll back.
Macron might instead again look towards the centre right for a prime minister who could keep on board the rightwing Les Républicains party, which has propped up the minority government so far. But they would face the same budget rows.
Bayrou to submit resignation on Tuesday morning, government says
The Matignon has just confirmed that the ousted prime minister will submit his resignation to Emmanuel Macron tomorrow morning, Reuters says.
Another alternative is on the left, Vallaud says after Bayrou’s government falls
The Socialists’ parliamentary leader Boris Vallaud says in his first reaction that his group wanted to use today’s debate to “remind everyone that, contrary to what the prime minister said, there is another path” as he argues the left should be given the task of forming the next government.
He says Macron needs to face the reality that he lost the election last year, and there is a “considerable” demand for change.
“If he loves this country, if he cares about the interests of the French, if he doesn’t want to leave the only alternative to the far-right, he will do it,” he says.
Expected result, but still a big moment with focus now on Macron – snap analysis
Jakub Krupa
The result is entirely as expected, but still, it’s a big, big moment in French politics.
The ball is now in Macron’s court to decide on what’s next.
Francois Bayrou loses confidence vote, will tender resignation
Officially confirmed.
For 194
AGAINST 364
The vote has now closed and we are waiting for the result.
Vote on Bayrou’s government under way – in pictures
Bayrou closes debate as vote on confidence in his government about to get under way
We’re nearing the end of the debate, and Bayrou is now back speaking from the podium.
He calls out some of the more radical language in the debate, thanks his ministers, and reiterates some of the main points from his earlier speech saying it’s “a moment of truth” – but this is unlikely to make aby substantial difference at this stage.
We will now go ahead with the vote, which is expected to take 30 minutes, and will close 6.50pm local time (5.50pm UK).
Mathilde Panot, for the hard-left France Unbowed, quickly shatters Attal’s hope for any consensus-based politics as she goes all out against Bayrou and his government.
She says her group is pleased to “never endorsed a single one of your budgets,” accusing successive governments of “leading us into the wall.”
“We do not share your diagnosis, and even less so your remedies,” she says.
She closely links her criticism of Bayrou and Macron, saying towards the end of her speech: “The president doesn’t want to change his policy, so we will have to change the president.”
Attal hails Bayrou for his “desire of transparency and frankness,” as he says while “none of the MPs in my group will vote to give the government a blank cheque, … [they] will vote for the general interest in stability.”
He calls for a broader, honest debate on the budget in the spirit of consensus.
“Bringing down the government will not resolve either the challenges facing France or the problems of the French people,” he repeats, warning it would only “set our country back a little further.”
Gabriel Attal, who served as France’s prime minister between January and September 2024, is up next.
He warns that the French are increasingly disenchanted with politics and parliamentary democracy, “at the risk of playing with fire.”
He says “we are living through an exceptional moment in our history,” and insists “France cannot get stuck every month.” “Every month of uncertainty or indecision is a greater threat to the future of the French people,” he says.
But he warns against some people pursuing “a scorched earth policy,” with political posturing and chaos taking precedence over national interest.
“It’s not up to the French to solve the problems of parliament, but up to parliament to solve the problems of the French in front of them,” he quips.
He says that bringing a government would always carries “a political cost, a cost for France,” as he lists practical consequences of not passing a budget – including for the country’s defence, army, and the broader public sector.
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