German media: France has had three prime ministers ousted in a year, why is the turmoil happening?

With France continuing to face financial difficulties and domestic political divisions, Prime Minister Barnier, who had only been in office for nine months, was defeated in a confidence vote by an overwhelming majority of votes in Parliament on the 8th, becoming the third prime minister to resign within a year, and setting a record in modern French history as the first prime minister to propose a confidence vote himself but be forced to resign.

The French National Assembly held a vote of confidence against Barnier on Monday, September 8, which resulted in an overwhelming 364 votes of no confidence versus 194 votes of confidence, marking the collapse of Barnier's minority government. Speaker Braun-Pivert cited Article 50 of the French Constitution, declaring, "The Prime Minister must resign."

Barnier's office has stated that he will submit his resignation to Macron on the 9th; the Macron office also said that on Tuesday, they will accept Barnier's resignation and appoint a new prime minister within the next few days, which will be the fourth time in the past 12 months that Macron has had to find a new prime minister. No clear candidate has emerged yet.

Barnier had previously actively promoted a 44 billion euro austerity plan that was unpopular, including canceling two public holidays and cutting or freezing public spending. Barnier warned that France must control the rising fiscal deficit and debt, emphasizing that these factors are threatening the future of the second-largest economy in Europe.

Currently, France's fiscal deficit is 6% of GDP, the highest ratio in the Eurozone, twice the EU limit (3%), and public debt is 114% of GDP.

On August 25 this year, Barnier's minority government announced it would introduce a confidence vote in Parliament to gain sufficient support for its policy to reduce the fiscal deficit. Barnier took a gamble, betting that members of parliament would support his view that France, facing a fiscal crisis, must significantly cut public spending to control the debt. However, this "gamble" backfired as expected in a divided Parliament. Left-wing and right-wing MPs voted together against Barnier, the centrist.

Leader of the far-right, Le Pen, said after the voting results were announced, "This moment marks the end of a ghost government." She also called for early parliamentary elections, but Macron has ruled out this option so far, and polls show that even if elections were held, it might not necessarily lead to any party gaining a majority.

Leader of the left-wing party "France Unbowed" (LFI), Mélenchon, said on X platform, "Macron is now standing before the people, and he must also step down."

Why can't the French Prime Minister stay long?

Since September 2024, when Attaar resigned as Prime Minister, and then Barne was overthrown by Parliament in December of the same year, and now Barnier has also stepped down, Macron once again faces the challenge of forming a cabinet, trying to seek consensus in a National Assembly controlled by the opposition.

However, the fundamental reason for the turbulence in the French political arena can be traced back to Macron's decision in June 2024 to dissolve the National Assembly and hold elections.

At that time, Macron originally hoped to strengthen the influence of the centrist alliance, but ultimately led to a "three-way standoff" in the Parliament for the first time in history, where no party or alliance gained a majority, and from then on, Macron's minority government fell into a series of crises. Although the number of seats of left-wing or far-right forces in the Parliament was not enough to govern alone, they could overthrow Macron's choice of prime minister if they joined hands.

Reuters reported that Macron may turn to the left, nominating a relatively moderate socialist, or choose a technocrat as Prime Minister. Regardless, the next government is unlikely to gain the majority support of the Parliament. Finance Minister Lombard said on Monday, before the confidence vote, that forming a new government would inevitably lead to a reduction in deficit cuts.

France now faces new uncertainties and may fall into a prolonged legislative deadlock. On the international level, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the shift in US President Trump's policy focus, have made the situation more complicated.

Source: DW

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842774723481610/

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